A certificate, issued to a ship intended to operate to Russian ports in wintertime, that describes the ship’s ability to operate in ice (in terms of safe speeds in different thicknesses of ice, safe distances to escort icebreakers, etc. ).
The certificate, which is issued by the Central Marine Research and Design Institute (CNIIMF), an organisation approved by the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Transportation, will be required to enter a Russian port if the ship’s ice class is lower than that admissible by the port authority. If the ice conditions are within the ship’s ice class limitations, however, an Ice Certificate will not be required.
