375
1 INTRODUCTION
Currently,many actsofinvestigationarecarriedout
to enable more efficient and sustainable distribution
oftransportationmodes:fromroadstowater.Oneof
theEuropeanAgreementonMainInlandWaterways
of International Importance (AGN) goals is to
establish a legal framework for implementing the
development plan
and construction of the inland
waterwaysnetworkofinternationalimportance[1]
For decades the possibility of free movement of
national and foreign vessels throughout the Vistula
Lagoonwasanunsolvedproblem.InFebruary2017,
thePolishGovernmentdecidedtocrosscuttheVistula
Lagoon, one of the decadeʹs biggest navigational
investments.
Crosscut enables better connection
maritime, inland, road, and railway transport and
consequently drives the development of intermodal
transport. The realization of building a waterway
through the Vistula Spit involves many stages and
requirements to be met; however, the initial
componentsoftheprojectwerefinishedinSeptember
2022,andpart
ofthenewwaterwaywithanewlock
andharbourwasopened[2,3].
Inwatertransport,navigationalsafetyisthemost
importantfactordeterminingashipʹsexploitationon
the waterway. One of the ways for shipsʹ safety
assuranceisprecisionnavigationplanning.Theship,
during the process of navigation, must
implement
safe shipping conditions such as keeping an under‐
the‐keelclearance(distancebetweenthelowestpartof
the hull and the top of the bottom), the proper
distanceofnavigationalobstruction,theadequateair
draught, and avoidance of collision with other
floating craft. Limitations of shallow water areas
relate
to seaside and canal effects and refer to the
vertical and horizontal plane of the waterway. The
dimensionsofthehydrotechnicalinfrastructureinthe
rivers and canals determine the maximum length,
Analysis of Traffic and Navigation Conditions on Nowy
Świat Canal
M.Schoeneich
1
,J.Soszyńska‐Budny
2
&A.Cisek
1
1
KazimierzWielkiUniversityinBydgoszcz,Bydgoszcz,Poland
2
SopotUniversityofAppliedScience,Sopot,Poland
ABSTRACT:The issue of safety and free navigation near the Vistula Lagoonfor many years was a dispute
betweenPolandandRussia.Themostdebatableandconflictingtopic,especiallyinPoland,wasbuildinganew
connectionbetweentheGulfofGdanskandthe
VistulaLagoon.Thispaperdescribesthefunctionalprocesses
andmechanismsofthenewlockinstalledattheharbourNowyŚwiatandtheresultsofquantitativeanalysisof
trafficchangesresultingfromthataddition(fromthebeginningoftheiroperationsthroughJanuary2023).The
nextpartoftheworkfocusesonsafety
navigationanalysisfortypicalvesselswhichoperateonthisnewlybuilt
waterway.Underkeelclearanceanalysisandthechannelʹsminimumsafetywidthwerecarriedout,assuming
themostcommontypesofship.Theresearchresultsprovidethefoundationforfurtherpotentialanalysisofthe
NowyŚwiatCanaltransportpossibilities.
http://www.transnav.eu
the International Journal
on Marine Navigation
and Safety of Sea Transportation
Volume 18
Number 2
June 2024
DOI:10.12716/1001.18.02.14
376
width,anddraughtofinlandwaterwayvessels[4,5,6].
Thesevaluesareimplementedinlocallaws.
Based on the real‐world data from the
HarbourmasterOfficeofNowyŚwiat,trafficanalysis
of typical ships utilizing the new Canal was
conducted. Next, navigational conditions were
calculated using parameters defining the constraints
for
a maximal ship, which can operate via Nowy
ŚwiatCanalaccordingtotheharbourlaws.
2 STUDYAREA
TheVistulaLagoonislocatedonthesoutherncoastof
theBalticSea,intheeastpartoftheGdańskGulf.The
lengthofthelagoonis90.7 km,andits
widthvaries
fromalmost6kmupto13km.Themeanwidthis8.9
km.Thelagoonisaveryshallowbasinwithamean
depth of only 2.75 m. Vistula Spit separates Vistula
Lagoon from Gdańsk Gulf, creating specific
navigational conditions on Vistula Lagoon and local
waterways[7,3].
Figure 1 presents new buildings of
infrastructureandacanal.
Figure1. The lock and canal NowyŚwiat (Fot.
M.Schoeneich)
The navigational route,which connects the Baltic
Sea with Elbląg Harbour, and the new canal Nowy
Światwasbasedonthewinningprojectselectedfrom
thethreecompetitiveproposals.Thespecificationsof
thefinaldesignoutlined:thetotallengthofthenew
waterway (22,880m) and the width of the
channel
(designatedfor60mwithsomeareasreaching120m).
Fromthenavigationalperspective,passagealongthe
NowyŚwiat–Elbląg waterway can be divided into
threelegs:VistulaSpitandlocks,VistulaLagoon,and
the Elbląg River [2,8,9]. Furthermore, for all new
routes, navigational buoyage was situated:50 lateral
marks and
navigational lights at the entrance to the
canal. It should be noted that entire described
waterway is not only important for north part of
Poland but is also the part of international inland
waterway E70 and at E40 [2,9,10], so it could be
provideseconomicadvantage.
Like the Baltic Sea,
the Vistula Lagoon is mostly
influenced by predominantly westerly atmospheric
circulation. As a result, almost 50% of the regionʹs
winddirectionisfromtheSW‐NWsector,andwind
speedoscillateswithintherangeof2–4Beaufort.Due
toitslocation,theVistulaLagoonisnotcharacterized
by high waves
and strong currents; based on the
observational data, the average maximum wave
heightdoes not exceed1,5m. Asa result, thewater
level is relatively stable, and the highest recorded
amplitude was around 1,5 m (mostly due to wind
activity).Inthecentralareaofthelagoon,theminimal
water level falls in March and April, then rises
systematically in July and September. The average
waterlevelamplitudefrom2016to2018was1,3m.In
suchconditions,assuminganaveragevesselspeedin
theN‐Saxisisaround5knots,thevessel’sdriftequals
approximately0,3°.Thevisibility
characteristicsofthe
regionaresimilartotheBayofGdańsk.Occasionally,
mostlyduringautumnandspringtime,therearedays
with a dense fog. They are icing in wintertime,
starting on Vistula Lagoon in early December.
Depending on the severity of the winter, the ice
thicknessrangesfrom30
to60cm.Icecoverappears
almost yearly; ice condition is differential and
fluctuatesfromsomedaystoeven140days.Themean
length of ice season equals approximately 100 days
[9,11,12].
Basedontheconditionsuncoveredbytheabove‐
cited studies, the new Port Regulations were
introducedandofficialisedfor
theNowyŚwiatCanal.
Themaximalvesselwhichcanoperateinthisareaisa
ship with a length of 100m, a beam of 20m, and a
draughtof4,5m.Maximumspeedatharbourequals7
knotsandduringlockoperation,3knots[13].
3 QUANTITATIVEANALYSISOFTRAFFIC
According
to data received at the Nowy Swiat
Harbourmaster Office, 842 vessels used the
hydrotechnical facility from its opening until 27
January2023,including:
381shipssupportingtheconstruction,
380pleasurecrafts,
78state‐ownedvessels,
3fishingvessels.
It should be noted that only some of the
above
vesselsusedthelock.Somevesselsusedtheharbour
to stay overnight or entered the outport for
recreationalpurposes,i.e.,sightseeing.Figure2shows
thenumberofconstructionsupportvesselsusingthe
lockaccordingtotheirlength.
Figure2.Numberofconstructionsupport vesselsusingthe
portandlockaccordingtotheoveralllength.
Source:OwnworkbasedondatafromtheHarbourmaster
Officeof“NowyŚwiat.”
377
AsreflectedinFigure2,thesurveyedtrafficflow
intheharbourandNowyŚwiatlockwasdominated
by vessels between 6.5m and 26.5m in length,
accountingforabout47%ofallconstructionsupport
vessels. This is because the lock was used most
frequentlybytugsand pusherboats
participatingin
dredgingthefairwayon theVistulaLagoonandthe
Elbląg River. It is worth noting that once all three
stages of the 39 investments have been completed,
vessels up to 100m in length can manoeuvre there,
and in the case of pushed convoys, even 180m in
length.
In
thecaseoftheanalysisofpleasurecraftstraffic,
thebreakdownofcraftbylengthisdifferentfromthat
of construction support vessels. Figure 3 shows the
numberofrecreationalcraftsusingthelockaccording
tocraftlength.
Figure3.Numberofpleasurecraftsusingtheharbourand
lockaccordingtounitlength.
Source:OwnworkbasedondatafromtheHarbourmaster
Officeof“NowyŚwiat.”
Based on the data given in Figure 3 on the
movement of pleasure boats, most crafts, over 56%,
are between 8m and 12m in length, and those are
mainly motor yachts and sailing yachts. Many units
aresmallboatsoflengthlessthan8m.
Itis worthmentioningthatmorethan
half ofthe
vessels that used the lock, passed through to the
north,i.e.,totheGulfofGdansk,andtheremaining
onestothesouth,i.e.,totheVistulaLagoon,asshown
inFigure4.
Figure4.Directionofvesselspassingthroughthelock
Source:OwnworkbasedondatafromtheHarbourmaster
Officeof“NowyŚwiat.”
Figure 5 showsthe exact times each unit crossed
thebreakwaterheadsofthePortofNowyŚwiat,the
timeitlefttheport,andthetimeitspentthere.
Figure5.Timesofenteringandleavingofvesselsfromthe
portanddurationofstayintheport.
Source:OwnworkbasedondatafromtheHarbourmaster
Officeof“NowyŚwiat.”
Fig.6 shows themooring times of theindividual
vessels,theircasting‐offtimes,andthedurationofthe
lockingoperationsoftheindividualvessels.
Figure6. Times of mooring and undocking of vessels and
durationtimeinthelock.
Source:OwnworkbasedondatafromtheHarbourmaster
Officeof“NowyŚwiat”
Table 1 shows some statistical measures for the
durationofvesselsʹstayintheharbour,themooring
times,andtimesinthelock.
Table1.Statisticalmeasure
________________________________________________
Statisticalmeasure Timeofunits Mooringandlock
withinthecanal timesforvessels
________________________________________________
Meanvalues1hr45min 1hr26min
Standarddeviation 1hr5min 0hr53min
Median1hr40min 1hr24min
Dominant0hr30min 1hr40min
Coefficientofvariation 61,9%61,6%
________________________________________________
BasedonthedatainTable1,wecanconcludethat
the differences in vessel times within the canal and
unitlockingtimesaresimilarataround62%.
Basedontheavailabledata,thedestinationswere
mainly Elbląg and Krynica Morska on the Lagoon
sideandGdańskandGdynia
ontheBayside.
4 NAVIGATIONCONDITIONSANALYSIS
Typical characteristics of the vessels operated in the
reviewedareawereusedtoanalysesafetyconditions,
and vessels A, B, C, and D were chosen based on
378
traffic analysis. Vessel E is a maximal ship that can
operateonawaterway(atypicalcargovesselwitha
length of 100m). The parameters of the vessels are
presentedinTable2.
Table2.Characteristicvesselusingatfurtheranalysis
________________________________________________
A B C D E
________________________________________________
Ship Marcel Zosia Jola1 SM‐PRC MAX
–tug –motor–tug ‐107–SHIP
vessel barge vessel dump cargo
barge vessel
________________________________________________
L[m] 21,16 56,74 9,5 59 100
B[m] 8,06 7,74 5 10 20
T[m] 1,75 1,62 1,2 1,5 4,5
________________________________________________
Because in the reviewed area there are only
opening bridges and over the river is a power
transmissionlinewithanoverheadclearanceof24m,
thereisnotakingaccountasanobstructionforheight.
Assessment of the safety of ship navigating on
NowyŚwiat Canal was carried out based
on two
navigationsafetycriteria,recommendedin[4,5]:
1. Underkeelclearance,
2. Dimensions of the ship’s manoeuvring area
(minimalwaterwaywidth).
MeanconditionsforVistulaLagoonwereusedas
characteristicsforanalysis:
windto5m/s(to3°B);
currentto0,1m/s;
goodvisibility.
Minimal and the
mean exploited underkeel
clearance for the most common types of ship on
newlybuiltwaterwaywerecalculatedonthebasisof
recommendations in [5,14]. Research results are
presentedinTable3.
Table3.Resultsofempiricalmethodsusedforminimal
underkeelclearancecalculationsfortypicalvessels.
________________________________________________
ShipA B C D E [m]
________________________________________________
Methodofcomponents 0,9660,9810,9610,9811,04
Methodofconstant 0,94 0,93 0,93 0,94 1,01
clearances
Meanunderkeel 0,93 0,9310,9170,9341,013
clearance
ProbabilisticMethod 2,9 3,0 3,4 3,2 0,08
________________________________________________
Analyses of the results of the empirical method
pointtoverysimilarvalues.
Minimal underkeel clearance for the maximal
vessel is equal to max. 1,04 m. This reaffirms the
port’s regulations rule requiring speed reduction by
the Port’s Captain to secure the lock and
subsequently, the portspecific harbour
conditions[13].
The
findings suggest that the parameters of the
methodofconstantclearancemightrequirechangeso
thatthesafetydepthconditionasasumoftheactual
ship’s draught (4,5 m for max vessel) and uderkeel
clearanceisfulfilled(butatawaterlevelofmorethan
500 cm). The results
derived from the probabilistic
method and modelling presented in [5,15,16]
confirmedtheabovefindingswiththevalueof0,08m
(the mean exploited underkeel clearance). Further,
regulation concerning a maximum speed as 7 knots
willbemetifthewaterwayisdredgedtoadepth6 ‐
6,5m.
Next,thewidthwaterway
forsafetynavigationfor
analysed characteristicvessels was calculated within
recommended empirical methods – PIANC,
Canadian, Panama Canal, and USACE Methods
[5,15,16].
Behindatsafety,minimalwidthoneandtwo‐way
trafficwasconsidered.Theresultsoftheresearchare
presentedinTable4.
The above tabulation provides data and
can be
used to assess the minimal safety width (a 47,05m
mean) for the maximal vessel operating one‐way
betweenVistula Lagoonand GdańskGulf. Thetwo‐
way waterway traffic analysis found the same
outcomes,leadingtotheconclusionthatutilizingthe
empirical method for width waterway analysis
confirms safety
navigation on the newly opened
waterway.
5 CONCLUSIONS
NewlybuiltwaterwayandNowyŚwiatCanalisnot
onlyimportantfornorthpartofPolandbutisalsothe
partofinternationalinlandwaterwayE70andatE40,
soitcouldbeprovideseconomicadvantage.thenew
PortRegulationswereintroduced
andofficialisedfor
theNowyŚwiat Canal indicated themaximal vessel
whichcanoperateinthisareaasashipwithalength
of100m,abeamof20m,andadraughtof4,5m.
Since the opening of the Vistula Spit canal until
January 27th, 2023, 842 vessels used the canal,
of
which more than 45% were construction support
vessels,mostofwhich,about47%,werelessthan26.5
meterslong.Thesecondgrouputilizingthecanalwas
thepleasurecraftswhichaccountedfor45%.Among
the pleasure crafts, boats of 8 to 12m in length
dominated and accounted for 56%
of all pleasure
boats.Theywerefollowedbyboatslessthan8mlong,
accountingfor28%ofpleasurecrafts.
Table4.Thecomparisonofempiricalmethods’resultsforwidthwaterwaydetermination(one‐andtwo‐waytraffic).
Ship
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
MethodABCDE[m]
One Two One Two One Two One Two One Two
way way way way way way way way way way
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
PIANC18,538 29,016 21,672 35,604 11,5 18,0 28,0 46,0 52,0 88,0
Canadian 16,12 24,18 19,01 30,96 10,0 15,0 25,0 40,0 48,0 76,0
PanamaCanal 17,732 35,454 21,672 43,344 11,0 22,0 28,0 56,0 44,0 88,0
USACE32,26 43,32 31,94 42,68 29,2 37,2 34,2 47,2 44,2 67,2
Mean21,163 32,993 23,574 38,397 15,425
23,05 28,8 47,3 47,05 79,8
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
379
Fromtheshipsobserved5werechosenforfurther
analysis.Recommendedempiricalmethodswereused
forwidthwaterwaydeterminationandempiricaland
probabilistic method for underkeel clearance
assessment.The results derived from the
probabilistic method and modelling confirmed the
above findings with the value of 0,08m (the mean
exploited
underkeelclearance).Itshouldbenotedthat
further,regulationconcerningamaximumspeedas7
knots will be met if the waterway is dredged to a
depth6‐6,5m.
Utilizing the empirical method for width
waterway analysisfor characteristicvessels confirms
safetynavigationonthenewlyopenedwaterway.
The research
results could be helpful for inland
transport management, risk assessment of ships
entering ports, and navigation safety procedures on
newlybuiltwaterways
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