Coast Guard cutter makes path for freighters
March 27, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
See Also: New fleet, boat safety on Coast Guard chief’s list - Detroit Free Press
Source: TradingMarkets.com
Angular chunks of ice leap from the water like live beasts suddenly wakened from sleep, groaning and bouncing in dark water.
Cracks ripple across untouched ice. The buoy deck — near ice level — shudders underfoot.
For hours every day in the final weeks of winter, the Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw, the behemoth of the Great Lakes icebreaking fleet, grinds through plates of ice 2 feet thick, methodically cutting a path for the return of big ships to the Sault Ste. Marie locks, which open Tuesday.
About 60,000 jobs in the United States and Canada depend directly on the movement of cargo — iron ore, salt, coal and limestone — on the Great Lakes. The shipping season is 42 weeks, 12 of which require icebreaking. It’s crucial that the shipping industry restart traffic on time after a 2-month winter shutdown.
Some 800 oceangoing vessels move cargo through the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes each year; another 62 freighters ply Great Lakes ports exclusively. Together, they carry billions of dollars worth of raw material and steel more cheaply than can be transported by rail or truck.
