Taking part in the efforts to remove ice from a water gate using TNT

January 2003- efforts including a hovercraft involved crushing ice blockages, which caused flood threats in a couple of towns. The blockages were forming on a relatively narrow – about 6 to 8 metres, river with a strong current, and depth of about 3 to 6 metres. Two HT-P400 ANACONDA hovercrafts were used in the operation. Using regular vessels was impossible due to the shape of the terrain and presence of terrain obstacles. Without the hovercraft, the only other solution would have been a very dangerous method involving setting up ladders on the ice, or crushing the ice manually with boat-hooks from a high shore (2-5m). The main problem was that the blockage was about 3 kilometres in length and the river runs through a dense forest, which made it impossible to use excavators or other land-based equipment. The only way to get to the current was to enter the mouth of the
Odra river, where the strong current was the first obstacle, followed by the low (1,8 metre) bridge and floating ice, branches and pieces of tree trunks. The floating ice, in some places piled on both sides of the river, forced the hovercraft to zigzag across, so the extreme force and small size of the hovercraft were very helpful. The tasks included transporting a sapper to the middle of the blockage, stopping and remaining in place until a space for the explosives has been prepared on the ice, then going back to shore, retrieving the TNT and returning to the blockage. After setting the fuse on fire, there were 3 to 5 minutes left to leave the explosion site. The next step was to make sure that the remaining floating ice does not form into yet another blockage, and if necessary, pushing the floating ice using the bow of the hovercraft. Another obstacle was the temperature of about -10°.