The Narva-Jõesuu breakwater is in ruins, and shifting sands in the bay threaten to completely close access to the Narva River waterway to ships unless the breakwater is repaired. The Mayor of Narva-Jõesuu, Maksim Ilyin, has taken the breakwater to heart.
“This is my biggest dream. From the moment I came to work, I started working on the mule issue and I intend to make it a reality,” said Ilyin. In November, to raise awareness of the problems associated with the pier, he convened a public discussion at the Paksu Margareeta turret of the Tallinn Maritime Museum, attended by the Speaker of the State Parliament Jüri Ratas (KE), the President of the Estonian Academy of Sciences Tarmo Soomere, the Mayor of Narva Katri Raik and the Director of the Maritime Museum Urmas Dresen. According to Iljin, the decaying pier threatens the Narva-Jõesuu resort and Estonia as a whole with three major problems. If the mouth of the border river fills up with sand, or if moving sediments shift the navigable part of the fairway to the Russian side, ships and boats will no longer be able to reach the Narva River. If the estuary becomes easily passable on foot, it could be targeted by migrants trying to cross illegally, as has happened in Poland and Lithuania, as a weak link in the EU’s external border. Not least, the dilapidated pier cuts off Narva-Jõesuu’s otherwise well-maintained promenade.
