The winter in Saaremaa has been particularly harsh. The sea near the Nasva shipyard is completely frozen. The ships have been ready at the pier for a long time, but they cannot be delivered to the customer. The ships cannot sail in the ice.
Erik Aleksejev, the factory manager of Baltic Workboats, says there have been many problems. For example, the port of Klaipeda, where the ships were supposed to go, is also frozen. This makes the situation even more complicated.
Currently, there are 16 different ships under construction at the shipyard. The new workboat for the Estonian state fleet is almost ready. But even this cannot be launched now because the ice is too thick. The ice thickness is over 70 centimeters.
Aleksejev explained that the ice is too thick to put the ship on the slipway. It is also physically impossible to do so. This also leads to problems in testing and delivering the ships. The delivery deadline is soon, but it is difficult to meet it.
An icebreaker cannot be ordered to Nasva either because the sea level is too low. Therefore, they are waiting for spring when the ice melts. Then work can continue.