Navigation on the Oder has been closed. Start-up of Polish icebreakers

The Regional Water Management Authority in Szczecin announced yesterday the closure of another section of the Eastern Oder. From 8 January 2026, a total ban on navigation on inland waterways in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship will come into force. The icebreaker Dzik set out on its first voyage.

Closed navigation on the Oder

An unexpectedly frosty start to the year prompted the Regional Water Management Authority in Szczecin to gradually introduce navigation bans on individual sections of the Oder. As early as 2 January, three operational sections of the Oder Waterway were closed, from kilometre 542 to 667. A further drop in temperatures led to the closure on 5 January of additional sections from the Bielinek gravel pit to the weir in Widuchowa, and further to Marwice as well as the Klucz-Ustowo Cut.

The last sections that had remained open so far on the Regalica, the Western Oder, the Parnica, the Parnicki Cut and the Odyńca Canal were, according to the original plan, to be closed tomorrow. However, in a notice published on 8 January 2026, the Regional Water Management Authority in Szczecin, in consultation with the Inland Navigation Authority and the Oder-Havel Waterways and Shipping Office in Eberswalde, announced the immediate introduction of a total navigation ban. The change in decision results from the rapid development of ice phenomena.

Ice phenomena on the Oder were also reported yesterday by the Regional Water Management Authority in Wrocław. On the channels and locks of the upper section of the river, the ice cover reaches 100 percent of the surface and 10 cm in thickness, while frazil ice and shore ice are appearing in the freely flowing current. As a result, a decision was made to close the section of the Oder Waterway from kilometre 181+300 (the mouth of the Nysa Kłodzka) to kilometre 300+800 (the lower foreport of the Malczyce power plant), together with the Wrocław Water Node and all locks.

Szczecin icebreakers ready for action

Due to the thickening ice cover and frosty forecasts for the coming days, the Regional Water Management Authority in Szczecin also decided to initiate the technological start-up of regional icebreakers. On 7 January, Dzik set out on its first voyage, clearing the Oder on the section from the base in Podjuchy to the weir in Widuchowa. Today, the start-up of further vessels is planned, including the line icebreaker Stanisław, built in 2014 and possessing the greatest power in the entire Szczecin fleet (1,599 hp).

If necessary, the eight Polish icebreakers will receive support from the German side, which has confirmed the readiness of six of its vessels. Joint operations will be carried out on a 180-kilometre section of the Border Oder, from Widuchowa to the mouth of the Lusatian Neisse.

Contrary to popular belief, icebreaking operations are not conducted during periods of frost and river freezing, but during thaws. It is then that moving ice floes create a risk of ice jams, damage to hydraulic structures and flooding.

According to the current meteorological forecast of IMGW-PIB, temperatures above zero in the eastern part of the country can be expected at the earliest next Wednesday.

What is the situation on other Polish rivers?

Ice phenomena are also developing in other regions of the country. Data from the IMGW-PIB hydrological service indicate that frazil ice and shore ice have already been observed locally on the Vistula, Przemsza, Raba, Dunajec, Biała Tarnowska, San, Pilica, Narew, Biebrza, Orzyc, Bug, Wkra and Drwęca rivers. On the Soła, Narew, Omulew and Bug rivers, an ice cover has been recorded in places. The Baltic coast remains ice-free, but frazil ice and a high water level have been recorded on the Pomeranian river Łyna.

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main photo: www.gov.pl