Arkhangelsk Region Prepares Timber for Spring Rafting

In the Arkhangelsk Region, timber harvesting begins in September and is transported in winter when river crossings open. The process is almost continuous: autumn harvests have already been formed into rafts, and further harvesting and rafting of timber is underway to deliver it to enterprises in Arkhangelsk during the spring high water.

The largest artificial timber rafting area in Russia, stretching approximately 2.5 km and about 300 m wide, holds over 270,000 cubic meters of timber. It is located near the settlement of Dvinskoy in the Verkhnyaya Toyma district. When the spring flood begins, rafts of timber from here will head to Arkhangelsk.

«Timber harvested from logging plots is loaded onto timber trucks and taken to the lower yard: hardwood goes into reserve, while softwood, sawlogs, and pulpwood are delivered to the rafting area and formed into rafts,» explained Andrey Egorov, head of the Verkhnyaya Toyma separate division of OOO PKP Titan.

A raft is guided by two tugboats; within the city limits, an additional tugboat joins the convoy. Sorting occurs at enterprises that process the timber. In addition to rafts, harvested timber is transported by barges.

The Verkhnyaya Toyma separate division of OOO PKP Titan plans to raft 22 rafts with a total volume of about 240,000 cubic meters. Raft formation began on 15 December, with an approximate completion date of late April and early May.

«Spring floods are unpredictable; there are no exact dates,» say experts.

In their work, foresters use modern equipment: harvesters, forwarders, sortiment trucks, timber trucks, and timber trucks with hydraulic manipulators, as well as other road-building machines.

Importantly, the company is also actively involved in reforestation.

«In the Verkhnyaya Toyma division alone, over 300,000 seedlings were planted last year,» wrote Alexander Tsybulsky, Governor of the Arkhangelsk Region, on his social media accounts.