U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards Begin Ice Breaking

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The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Neah Bay, homeported in Cleveland, works to keep the CSL Laurentien moving during an escort in eastern Lake Erie March 27, 2014. The crew experienced plate ice as thick as 3 feet and ice ridges as tall as 8 feet. (Photo courtesy of CSL Laurentien)

The U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards have commenced “Operation Coal Shovel” also known as seasonal domestic ice breaking in the southern part of Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair and Detroit River systems, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

The U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers work together to prevent ice jams as conditions worsen throughout the winter months.

Ice jams can create a disruption to the flow of maritime commerce, so the icebreakers work quickly to flush ice down the river and keep commercial vessels moving.

They report that the winter of 2013-2014 presented some of the harshest ice conditions ever recorded in the Great Lakes. At one point during March 2014, 92.5 percent of the Great Lakes were covered by ice; this was the highest percentage of ice coverage seen since 1979.Operation Coal Shovel started in December 2013 and lasted for a total of 128 days.