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Saimaa Canal

Transportation canal in Finland

Summary

Transportation canal in Finland

Field	Value
name	Saimaa Canal
image	Saimaa canal at Lappeenranta Finland.jpg
image_size	250px
image_caption	Saimaa Canal
mapframe	yes
mapframe-zoom	7
canal_length	42.9 km
max_boat_length	82.5 m
max_boat_beam	12.6 m
max_boat_draft	4.35 m
max_boat_air_draft	24.5 m
current_num_locks	8
date_began	1845
date_completed	1856
start_point	lake Saimaa, Finland
end_point	Gulf of Finland near Vyborg, Russia

|mapframe-zoom = 7

Course of the canal

The Saimaa Canal (; ; ) is a transportation canal that connects lake Saimaa with the Gulf of Finland near Vyborg, Russia. The canal was built from 1845 to 1856 and opened on . It was overhauled and widened in 1963–1968.

A system of inland waterways and canals in the 120 interconnected lakes of the south-central and south-east part of Finland (Finnish Lakeland) are reached through the canal. The network of deep channels in Lake Saimaa with at least a draught of 4.2 m covers 814 km. The deep channels extend all the way to Kuopio in Central Finland. The canal is closed in the winter.

Topography

The canal begins near Lauritsala, Lappeenranta, Finland, at coordinates () and ends in Vyborg, Russia, at coordinates (), connecting Lake Saimaa and the Vyborg Bay. On the way, it connects Lake Nuijamaa, on the Finnish–Russian border at coordinates (), and three smaller lakes in Russia.

Dimensions

Length: 42.9 km
- Finnish part: 23.3 km
- Russian part: 19.6 km
Width: from 34 to
Total lift from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Saimaa: 75.7 m
The "Saimax" specification, in analogy to Panamax, specifies the maximum size and required equipment. The maximum dimensions allowed for a ship transiting the canal are:
- Length: 82.5 m
- Beam (width): 12.6 m
- Draft: 4.35 m
- Height of mast: 24.5 m
- Other requirements include for example that trading vessels must have two VHF radios and an automatic identification system (AIS).
217 boundary pillars between Canal Rented Zone and main territory of Russia.

Locks

There are a total of eight locks on the canal, raising the water level by some 250 ft: the upper three locks in the Finnish part of the canal, and the lower five locks situated on the Russian side of the border:

No.	Name	Old name	Meters	Coordinate
1	Brusnichnoye	Juustila	10.0 m	Russia
2	Iskrovka	Särkijärvi	11.4 m	Russia
3	Tsvetochnoye	Rättijärvi	5.5 m	Russia
4	Ilistoye	Lietjärvi	10.2 m	Russia
5	Pälli		11.7 m	Russia
6	Soskua		8.3 m	Finland
7	Mustola		7.3 m	Finland
8	Mälkiä		12.4 m	Finland

Mälkiä Lock has the highest lift (12.4 m), Tsvetochnoye Lock has the lowest (5.5 m).

Bridges

The canal crosses

12 motor vehicles bridges:
- 6 of them in Finland – 3 movable and 3 immovable
- the other 6 in Russia – 4 movable and 2 immovable
2 railroad bridges (one on the each side of the border), both of them are immovable.

History

The canal, inaugurated in 1856, was built between the cities of Lappeenranta and Viipuri (now part of Russia), both of them then in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland in the Russian Empire.

In the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, Finland ceded the Karelian Isthmus and Vyborg to the Soviet Union; control of the canal was divided and traffic ended.

Finland obtained a 50-year lease on the Soviet part of the canal and Maly Vysotsky Island (Ravansaari) in 1963. Finland constructed a deeper 42.9 km canal, which opened in 1968. The annual rent during this lease increased only once.

In 2010, Finland obtained a second 50-year lease from Russia, starting in 2013. Maly Vysotsky was not included in the new lease. Negotiations in 2008 had raised the annual rent from to , with revisions every 10 years. The new agreement went into effect on 17 February 2012.

Regulations pertaining to maritime rules and employment of canal staff fall under Finnish jurisdiction; in all other cases Russian laws apply. Passports are required at the international boundaries, but Russian visas are not required for just passing through the canal.

In 2024–2025, the canal remained open to Finnish ships despite Finland abandoning its traditional neutrality and joining NATO.

References

(2024-06-24). "Saimaa Canal open as of 24 June". Government of Finland.
"Information on the Saimaa Canal locks". [[Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency]].
(20 Nov 2011). "Russian-Finnish agreement on the lease of Saimaa Canal ratified".
(11 September 2024). "Finland suspends work of advisory council with Russia on Saimaa Canal". TASS.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

canals-in-finland canals-in-russia karelian-isthmus finland–soviet-union-relations canals-opened-in-1856 transport-in-vyborg

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