Rosmorport icebreakers escorted 520 vessels through the VCMSC using the convoy method in 2026

Since January 17, 2026, when full-scale convoy icebreaker escorting began on the Volga-Caspian Sea Shipping Canal (VCMSC), the fleet of FSUE "Rosmorport" has successfully escorted 520 vessels to and from the seaports of Astrakhan and Olya. In total, exactly 20 escort operations were carried out during this period, confirming the high level of organization and efficiency of winter navigation in the southern region.

The transition from independent vessel navigation (under icebreaker supervision) to the classic convoy method made it possible to significantly increase the channel's throughput under conditions of intensifying ice cover. One icebreaker now leads from 6 to 10 vessels in a convoy, and the average one-way transit time is 4.5 days.

Escort operations are carried out by three diesel-electric icebreakers: "Kapitan Chechkin," "Kapitan Metsaik," and "Kapitan Bukaev." Their work and the real-time operational formation of convoys are coordinated by the ice operations headquarters under the Administration of the Seaports of the Caspian Sea.

The Volga-Caspian Sea Shipping Canal, stretching more than 180 km, remains a critically important link in the international transport corridor "North-South," providing access for Volga and Caspian cargoes to the markets of Iran, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia. The maintained channel depths (4.5-5.0 m) allow the passage of vessels with a deadweight of up to 7,000 tons. In winter, ice thickness in problematic sections reaches 30-40 cm, and in layered ice and hummocks up to 1 m. That is why shallow-draft icebreakers of Project 1105 ("Kapitan Chechkin" and "Kapitan Bukaev") and Project 1191 ("Kapitan Metsaik") are deployed, capable of operating confidently at a draft of less than 2.5 m and breaking through consolidated and hummocked ice.