US and Canada conclude season's ice breaking operations
U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard crews concluded the nation’s largest domestic ice breaking operation, after more than four months of ice breaking operations in the Great Lakes. Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, plans and runs Operation Taconite, an ice breaking operation facilitating the flow of commerce across Lakes Superior and Michigan, the northern half of Lake Huron, the St. Mary’s River and the Straits of Mackinac. During the 122 days of the operation, seven U.S. Coast Guard and three Canadian Coast Guard ice breakers spent more than 3,181 hours breaking ice for convoys and assisted in 677 commercial vessel transits to move an estimated 23.7 million tons of dry bulk and liquid cargoes with an estimated value of $829 million. These crucial commodities sustain industrial production and power generation for the Great Lakes region during the winter months. Ice breakers provided direct assistance for 353 of the transits. An additional 3,658 hours of ice breaking established and maintained tracks through the ice-choked waterways of Georgian Bay, Straits of Mackinac, Green Bay, southern Lake Michigan, St. Mary’s River, and across Lake Superior. Coast Guard Sector Detroit coordinates Operation Coal Shovel, an ice breaking operation facilitating the flow of ...
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