Following the order of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation dated 13.06.2023 No. 210, amendments were made to the Compulsory Regulations in the seaport of Kandalaksha.

The adjustments concern the clarification of the boundaries of the Kandalaksha Gulf VTS coverage area, taking into account technical characteristics of the VTS. The VTS in the seaport of Kandalaksha was built by the Murmansk Branch and put into operation in 2015. In 2016, the enterprise received the certificate of Rosmorrechflot dated 29.04.2016 No. 16.01867.315 on the compliance of the Kandalaksha Gulf VTS with the technical and operational requirements for VTS of the second category.

Annually, more than one thousand vessels are in the coverage area of the Kandalaksha Gulf VTS. Navigation services using the Kandalaksha Gulf VTS are provided by the FSUE “Rosmorport” Murmansk Branch. For more information about the terms and procedure for the provision of navigation services by the Kandalaksha Gulf VTS, see “VTS services of the Murmansk Branch”.

The amendments to the compulsory regulations also concern the inclusion of the seaport in the coverage area of the Sea Area A1 GMDSS. The Kandalaksha Sea Area A1 GMDSS Coast Station was built and put into trial operation by the FSUE “Rosmorport” Murmansk Branch on November 19, 2015, and in April 2016 it successfully passed the initial certification by Rosmorrechflot. In April 2021, following the results of the regular certification by Rosmorrechflot, the enterprise received the certificate dated 21.04.2021 No. GMDSS-3/1-3219-2021 on the compliance of the Kandalaksha Sea Area A1 GMDSS Coast Station with the requirements of the order of the Ministry of Transport of Russia dated 23.07.2015 No. 226.

At the same time, the information on very high frequency communication channels used in the seaport of Kandalaksha was corrected: the information on the communication channels used to communicate with operators of the Kandalaksha Gulf VTS (call channel 16, working channel 69, call sign “Kandalaksha-traffic”) and with operators of the Sea Area A1 GMDSS Coast Station (call channels 16, 67, working channels 3, 62, call sign “Kandalaksha-radio-GMSSB”) was added to the list.

The document of the Ministry of Transport of Russia establishes the boundaries of approaches to the seaport of Kandalaksha, as well as clarifies the boundaries of the seaport's approach fairway in order to correct earlier inaccuracies. Information on the minimum number and capacity of tugboats for vessels mooring operations in the seaport of Kandalaksha was also changed in order to reduce shipowners' expenses on engagement of tugboats in the seaport of Kandalaksha for providing mooring operations.

The amendments to the Compulsory Regulations in the seaport of Kandalaksha approved by the Russian Ministry of Transport will come into force on March 1, 2024 and will be valid until September 1, 2028.