Traficom must be notified of water structures, such as bridges, overhead cables, underwater cables or pipelines and fish ponds, so that information on the structures can be added to nautical charts and published in Notices to Mariners.
Notifications of construction and completion must be submitted to Traficom so that they can be added to the chart information system and published in Notices to Mariners and on nautical charts (position and overhead clearance data, etc.). Traficom must also be notified of the installation of waterway signs and light signals. The party responsible for the installation of restricted overhead clearance signs, overhead cable-crossing signs and cable and pipeline panels and their directional signs related to water structures is the owner of the structure, overhead cable, cable or pipeline.
Notification of completion of water structures
PDF-forms for notification of completion of water structures are available in Finnish and Swedish, on the language versions of this website.
Bridges
The restricted overhead clearance of a bridge must be marked with a ‘headroom limited” sign attached to the bridge in accordance with the Water Traffic Act. The party responsible for installing the sign is the owner of the bridge. The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency must be notified of the installation of the sign and its position data via the notification of completion of the bridge.
Overhead cables
Overhead cables crossing public channels must be marked with overhead cable crossing signs and headroom limited signs in accordance with the Water Traffic Act. The party responsible for installing the signs is the owner of the cables. The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency must be notified of the installation of the signs and their position data via the completion notification of the cable.
All overhead cables crossing water areas must be notified to Traficom via notifications of completion.
Underwater cables and pipelines
Cables and pipelines must be indicated with cable and pipeline panels placed on shores in accordance with the Water Traffic Act. The owner must also notify Traficom of decommissioned cables and pipelines. The notification must also detail whether the cable or pipeline and associated panels have been physically removed.
Fish ponds
Fish ponds located in the vicinity of public channels must be marked on the channel-side edge with a yellow special sign and outfitted with yellow light signals in accordance with the buoyage system. Fish ponds located away from water traffic areas are not marked with aids to navigation, but in accordance with instructions concerning the marking of fish traps laid down in the Fishing Act. If necessary, fish ponds are outfitted with reflectors or lighting devices so that they can be detected in the dark.
Marking a fish pond with buoyage system marks requires permission from Traficom for the positioning of the marks. Traficom will issue a fairway decision on the marks to have them added to nautical charts. In addition to a notification of completion, Traficom must be provided with a notification of the removal of a fish pond.
Waterway signs and light signals in connection with water structures
The installation of waterway signs and light signals in a public channel is the responsibility of the waterway manager. In areas outside of public channels, the party responsible for the installation of waterway signs and light signals is the municipality. Exceptions to this are restricted overhead clearance signs, overhead cable-crossing signs and cable and pipeline panels and their directional signs, the installation of which is the responsibility of the owner of the structure, overhead cable, cable or pipeline. The waterway manager must notify Traficom of the installation of a waterway sign and a light signal along with their positioning data. These notifications can be submitted via Traficom’s e-services.