Man fined after breaking ice on Amsterdam canal

A man was fined after he broke the layer of ice on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam with his boat on Thursday morning. A sailing ban is in place in the area around Noordermark, to promote ice formation in the hope that locals will soon be able to skate on the canals, ANP reports.

Amsterdam banned sailing on a number of canals and closed a number of locks on Saturday, to help ice form faster.

"There are few things more fun than skating on natural ice. Ice skating on the Amsterdam canals is nothing short of special," traffic and transport alderman Egbert de Vries said in a press release. "We cannot influence the temperature, but now that frost has been forecast for several days, we can do what we can to promote the growth of good ice. Shutting down shipping on a number of canals is of great importance in that context."

The man was not fined for breaking the ice, but for violating the sailing ban, the police said.