The working channel of Bothnia VTS is VHF 67. 

Reports should include the following information:

• Name of the vessel
• Name of reporting point
• Destination
• Intended route. If an alternative route is selected, this must be reported. 

Required reports

• upon entry into the VTS Area
• before anchoring
• before leaving an anchorage 
• after berthing
• before leaving port; for Port of Pietarsaari and Port of Oulu, see chapter “Permission to depart from the ports of Pietarsaari and Oulu”

Vessels bound for Finnish ports in the Gulf of Bothnia via the Quark are required to submit an advance report 20 nautical miles before the Nordvalen Lighthouse (63°32.15’N 020°46.60’E) at the time indicated in the instructions Finland's Winter Navigation.

Before leaving the Port of Oulu or Port of Pietarsaari, the vessel must request permission to depart from VTS.

The permission to depart issued by the VTS is valid for 20 minutes, during which time the vessel must get underway. 

The vessel is required to give a report when underway. If the vessel’s departure is delayed, it will have to request a new permission to depart.

In the Port of Pietarsaari, if necessary, the order of departure and arrival can be decided by the Port Authority.

Meeting and overtaking is permanently prohibited in the following areas covered by Bothnia VTS:

1. Tornio: Harbour basin–buoy pair T27 and T28 between latitudes 65º44.8’N and 65º43.2’N in the 9.0 m fairway.
2. Tornio: Narrow passage at Keila between buoys T5 and T7 between longitudes 024º20.8’E and 024º18.9’E in the 9.0 m fairway.
3. Tornio: Europa bend, in the area between buoys Europa and T18 between latitudes 65º39.8’N and 65º40.4’N in the 9.0 m fairway.
4. Kemi: Ajos Harbour–buoy Inakari 2 between latitudes 65º39.5’N and 65º38.9’N in the 10.0 m fairway.
5. Kemi: Veitsiluoto fairway; Veitsiluoto Harbour–W of Ajoskrunni between latitudes 65º40.9’N and 65º37.8’N in the 7.0 m fairway.
6. Oulu: Suumatala in the area between the buoys Oulu 5 and Hammasmatala between longitudes 024º50.5’E and 024º53.1’E in the 10.0 m fairway.
7. Oulu: Löyhänmutka fairway area between Hookana and Löyhänmutka edge mark between latitudes 65º07.3’N and 65º06.8’N in the 10.0 m fairway.
8. Oulu: Port entrance; Kyrönkari–Port of Oulu between longitudes 025º20.8’E and 025º23.5’E in the 12.5 m fairway.
9. Raahe: Elkonredi–Johan edge mark between longitudes 024º22.3’E and 024º16.9’E in the 10.0 m fairway.
10. Kokkola: Vessels of 200 m or more in length when operating between latitudes 63º53.5’N and 63º59.2’N in the 14.0 m fairway.
11. Pietarsaari: Port of Pietarsaari–Ådö island between longitudes 022º41.0’E and 022º37.9’E in the 11.0 m fairway.

These prohibitions do not apply to meeting and overtaking situations in which at least one of the parties is a tug or a vessel, the size of which is comparable to a tug.

1. In Oulu the 12.5 m fairway has a 12 kn (22 km/h) speed limit between longitudes 025°12,2’E and 025°06,0’E. 

A vessel must always notify both the VTS and the Finnish Border Guard when anchoring in Finland’s territorial waters. The vessel must make the notification either itself or through its agent. In addition, a vessel anchoring in territorial waters is required to make an electronic customs declaration, even if the vessel is not going to call at a Finnish port.

After leaving a port in Finland, the vessel must also check with the Finnish Border Guard whether anchoring in Finnish territorial waters is possible. Also in this case, a vessel remaining at anchor must make an electronic customs declaration.

1. Remotely operated AtoNs

Upon request, VTS can:

• switch on the virtual AIS marks between the Oulu 12,5 m fairway and the pilot boarding position.
• adjust the brightness of aids to navigation in the Kokkola 14 m fairway.

2. Virtual AtoNs (V-AIS)

There are following V-AIS-AtoNs in the Bothnia VTS area:

Name                 Lat                       Long 

V-AIS 1               65°04,61'N        023° 59,85'E

V-AIS 2               65° 05,33'N      023° 59,85'E

V-AIS 3               65° 09,78'N      023° 54,20'E

V-AIS 4               65° 15,70'N      023° 50,87'E

V-AIS 5               65° 17,73'N      023° 52,55'E

V-AIS 6               65° 20, 39'N     023° 56,08'E

3. Fault Reporting

AtoNs not working correctly? Please inform Bothnia VTS by VHF radio on channel 67 or call Turku Radio 0800-181818. 

Use of channels that deviates from the channel design refers to a situation where a vessel uses a channel in a manner that deviates from the channel’s design and the adequacy of the channel space cannot be ensured based on the design. If the vessel’s static draught is greater than the channel’s design draught taking into account the current water level, the vessel shall ensure that her net under keel clearance remains adequate and demonstrate it to the VTS Centre that is responsible for monitoring the fairway.

Vessel’s operator, agent or master shall give the notice of channel use at least 24 hours before its arrival at the pilot boarding position, or if the vessel is expected to arrive in less than 24 hours, no later than when the vessel has left the port of departure for a Finnish port. A vessel departing a Finnish port shall give the notice of channel use as soon as possible, at latest when the departure report is given.

The notice of channel use shall include the following items:

A. Vessel’s name

B. Which channel or part of channel the vessel is intending to use in a manner that deviates from the channel design

C. What is the manner that deviates from the channel design

D. Length between perpendiculars LBP and Breadth

E. Static Draught

F. Centre of Buoyancy, KB

G. Centre of Gravity, KG

H. Metacentric Height, GM

I. Block Coefficent, Cb

When ensuring the adequate net UKC and giving the notice of channel use, it is recommended to utilize the tools provided by the Finnish Transport and Infrastructure Agency. The notice of channel use can be given in the form of a squat calculation made with the Squat Calculator with regard to items D–I. The calculation can be shared as a link, or as a pdf-printout sent by e-mail to the VTS Centre. When using the Squat Calculator, it is enough to write the information of points A–C in the e-mail.

In Archipelago VTS, Bothnia VTS, Saimaa VTS and West Coast VTS monitoring areas the notice of channel use should be sent to the email address supervisors.west@fintraffic.fi. Title the email “Notice of channel use”.

Oulu

Vessels are required to maintain a listening watch on VHF channel 12 in the harbour area. Ship services are ordered from the Port of Oulu. The port regulations  and the port instructions of the Port of Oulu must be followed in the area.

Port control contact information:

• telephone +358 (0)44 703 2759
• e-mail satamavalvojat@ouluport.com
• VHF channel 12

Pietarsaari

The port regulations and the port instructions of the Port of Pietarsaari must be followed in the area.

Port control contact information:

• telephone +358 6 723 1388 (24/7)
• e-mail portcontrol@portofpietarsaari.fi 
• VHF channel 16 & 13 (not monitored continuously, only during mooring and unmooring)

• Kalajoki

  64°15.50′N           023°30.00′E

• Kemi N

  65°33.10′N           024°26.90′E

• Kemi S

  65°29.28′N           024°19.02′E

• Kokkola

  64°00.53′N             022°49.09′E

• Oulu N

  65°10.95′N           024°18.00′E

• Oulu S

  65°05.64′N             024°15.40′E

• Oulu W

  65°05.10′N             024°03.30′E

• Pietarsaari

  63°44.66′N           022°27.56′E

• Raahe

  64°38.70′N           024°09.90′E