Page 25: of Marine News Magazine (November 2022)

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Column

Great Lakes

CCG have an adequate icebreaking ? eet to cover the vast

As the temperatures start expanse of the binational Great Lakes Navigation System.

their annual decline on the Great Lakes, an icy chill is in The St. Lawrence Seaway continues to push their open- the air. Shipping companies across the lakes are rushing ing dates earlier and closure dates later, which adds stress to get ? nal loads of critical raw materials from the north- to an already inadequately resourced icebreaking mission. ern lakes to the manufacturing facilities on the lower lakes. With only 11 (two CCG and nine USCG) icebreakers,

The gales of November began blowing in October this it is impossible to effectively cover all the areas requiring year, tightening the constraint on the remaining days be- icebreaking which extend over 2,300 miles from Duluth, fore the large navigational lock in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Minn. to the Atlantic Ocean and the 94,000 square miles will close for the season and shipping virtually halts. just in the lakes and connecting waterways themselves.

While high winds and seas can only be avoided, ice can be During this past year’s ice season, the U.S.-? agged Great effectively managed by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and Lakes shipping industry lost the equivalent of a month of

Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) to move maritime traf? c ef- work due to delays in ice covered waters. Some 1.645 mil- ? ciently. The problem remains that neither the USCG nor lion tons of cargo carrying capacity was delayed for 680 www.marinelink.com MN 25|