New meeting and overtaking prohibition areas in Turku harbour
On May 1, 2025, new meeting and overtaking prohibition areas for commercial maritime vessels will be implemented on the busiest routes in Turku harbour. These new areas aim to standardize and clarify the navigation rules in the region. The prohibition areas apply to all vessels over 45 meters in length and are located on the following routes monitored by Archipelago VTS: Kuuva – Turku Harbour, Pansion fairway, and Pernon fairway. These new prohibition areas will replace the current navigation rules, and the meeting and overtaking prohibition on the Laten route will be removed.
“Traffic in the Turku harbour area has changed over the years, and the size of vessels has also increased. Therefore, it has been natural to review with route users how navigation rules could be developed. The new meeting and overtaking prohibition areas being implemented now will clarify movement in the area and ensure smooth passage for all vessels,” says Ville Alander, Deputy Harbour Master at Port of Turku Ltd.
The new prohibition areas do not apply to situations where one of the vessels involved in the meeting or overtaking is less than 45 meters long and the vessels have agreed on the meeting or overtaking on Archipelago VTS’s working channel (VHF 71). In this case, the smaller vessel is obliged to make the agreement, and the passage of the larger vessel must be unobstructed. Vessels under 45 meters can meet each other without VHF agreement. The new rules will be updated in the regional special instructions for vessel traffic (Master’s Guide) at mastersguide.fintraffic.fi