Estonia’s icebreakers have freed over 50 vessels from the pack ice hemming in Estonia’s coastlines and shipping lanes since the start of the year.

Two state-operated vessels, the Botnica and the Eva, are at work in the Gulf of Riga and the area around Pärnu, as well as the bulk of Estonia’s islands; another ship, the 60-year-old Tarmo, is heading to Muuga Bay, just east of Tallinn, on the Gulf of Finland.

The Tarmo will set out late tonight, Tuesday, as the first icebreaking orders must be fulfilled by noon Wednesday, “Aktuaalne kaamera” reported.

Icebreaking around the Port of Pärnu and on the Gulf of Riga, the bulk of whose coastline lies in Latvian territory, already began early last month.

Ice conditions in the Gulf of Riga forced all shipping traffic destined for Riga, Latvia’s capital, to pass through Estonian waters around the island of Ruhnu Island on Monday.

Read more: ERR.EE