ABSTRACT: The Baltic winter navigation depended always very much on the ice conditions in the sea. The sea ice occurs different in form and amount, depending on the sea area and the winter season. As the maritime traffic on the Baltic Sea constitutes a substantial amount in the whole of the Baltic countries transport, Sea Ice Services (SISs) have come into being. They constituted the Baltic Sea Ice Meeting (BSIM) ? a body, which assembles the parties, which are interested in warnings against bad ice conditions, and in protection of navigation in ice in the Baltic Sea. An indispensable co-operator to this body was always the company ?Baltic Icebreakers?. To-day within the BSIM operate by the SISs of Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany, Netherlands, Norway and the Baltic Icebreakers. The main statutory duties of the SISs is the acquisition, processing and dissemination of actual information on sea ice conditions and on obstructions to navigation due to sea ice. This is done by maintaining observing posts along the coast of those countries, in their ports and approaches to them, by gathering information from ships, from ice beakers, if possible ? from reconnaissance flights or satellite images. Routine products of SISs are the ice reports, ice bulletins, ice charts, forecasts and warnings and other information broadcast by mass media, e.g. radio, internet, Navtex and on the national and Baltic SISs? web sites etc.

KEYWORDS: Baltic Sea, Ice Conditions, Sea Ice Services (SIS), Ice Service, Baltic Winter Navigation, Baltic Sea Ice Code (BSIC), Ice Chart, Hydrometeorological Aspect

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