The first phase of the programme, conducted under ongoing Polish-German cooperation, involved a total of 18 icebreakers - 12 Polish and six German - clearing river channels to prevent flooding.
The work has been paused because continued icebreaking in severe, prolonged frost could allow newly broken channels to refreeze, heightening the risk of ice jams and flooding.
The vessels remain on standby at their bases, ready to resume operations when temperatures rise.
During the initial phase, crews successfully cleared a channel 500–1,000 metres wide on Lake Dąbie, enabling the smooth flow of ice from the upper Oder to the Szczecin Lagoon and onward to the Baltic Sea.
Icebreakers also worked on the Regalica, Eastern Oder, and the Oder-German border section, with their progress extending past Bielinek, reopening over 70 km of river.
On the Vistula, three icebreakers departed from the Przegalina base on 13 January to clear ice near Kiezmark, a village in northern Poland, heading downstream towards Tczew. Over five days, the vessels cleared a 22-kilometre stretch of the river.
A similar update on the completion of the first phase of the icebreaking operation was released by the Regional Water Management Authority (RZGW) in Gdańsk, northern Poland, which also shared footage on social media documenting the work of the services.
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Source: RZGGW/IAR/PAP/X/@RZGWGdansk