Ships trapped in ice on eastern Lake Superior

[mahatmakanejeeves]

"The searches all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay if they'd put fifteen more miles behind her."

I'm sitting in a cubicle now. It's 50 degrees outside in downtown DC. There are cherry blossoms on some of the trees around the Tidal Basin.

Ships trapped in ice on eastern Lake Superior

Freighters trapped in ice are shown in this aerial photo near Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior northwest of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario April 7, 2015. Ice cover on the Great Lakes is backing up shipments of everything from Canadian grain to U.S. iron and steel in one of North America's most important economic regions. REUTERS/Kenneth Armstrong

By Brady Slater Today at 9:09 a.m.

Ice coverage on eastern Lake Superior has hamstrung ship traffic this week in Whitefish Bay, off the eastern tip of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

As of Monday morning there were 10 ships stuck in ice, waiting to be escorted by icebreakers from the Canadian and U.S. coast guards. It's been slow going since.

One ship, the Kaye E. Barker, suffered damage to its forepeak and was looking to transfer cargo to the Lee A. Tregurtha, the Great Lakes and Seaway Shipping News said in a news release.

The 767-foot, 63-year-old Barker was not in any danger, the news release said, but both ships were struggling to come together. Efforts to bring the Barker into port at nearby Waiska Bay, Mich., were unsuccessful Tuesday and expected to continue today.

Damaged freighter among clog of ships caught in Lake Superior ice field

[trotsky]

2. The Great Lakes reached well into the 90% range of ice cover this winter.

Takes a long time to melt it!

[Godhumor]

3. I work in Great Lakes Freighting. This is common at the start of the season

Demands of customers do not always follow what nature will allow.

If you want to see the convoy by Whitefish Bay, you can observe the traffic at ais.boatnerd.com

That said, the start this year has been smoother than last year by a significant margin.

[KamaAina]

5. Why don't they have icebreakers like the Russians do?

[Brother Buzz]

6. The bottom photo in the OP shows the USCGC Mackinaw, a heavy icebreaker.

http://www.uscg.mil/d9/cgcMackinaw/

[mahatmakanejeeves]

14. I've been working on my taxes. It seems that

money spent on the USCG is being put to good use.

[Godhumor]

7. Coast Guard has heavy cutters on the lakes

But it can take a long time to cut a path. Last April in Eastern Superior, for example, a cutter needed a 1000 yard run up to break a 100 yard swath of ice.

And, yes, my company does have a boat in the current quiet queue awaiting assistance to get to the Soo Locks.

[One_Life_To_Give]

10. Cost in excess of $1Billion

The Russians have the worlds heaviest icebreakers. But those Nuclear Powered behemoths havn't been properly maintained since the fall of the Soviet Union. Next is size would be the aged Polar Star. Currently our heaviest IceBreaker and has the job of clearing the Sea Lanes to McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Costs to replace her have been estimated in excess of $1Billion. (In a service with a Grand Total budget of $9Billion). Then you get to the Great Lakes Icebreaker Mackinaw, 3ft Ice at3kts vs Polar Stars 6ft Ice at 3kts.

[In_The_Wind]

9. When do you anticipate your boat will be underway again?

[Godhumor]

11. The one waiting in the queue will be moving in the next few days

It is not a major blockage like last year (Vessels in all fleets were in danger of running out of groceries due to a three week transit time on Superior.).

[In_The_Wind]

12. That is good news.

Did your company feel the need to add extra supplies of food and potable water this year?

It feels as if this winter just won't let go.

[Godhumor]

13. We hedged our bets by only having one vessel out currently

The rest will be coming out in short order and should miss most of the pain.

[benld74]

4. I guess this reverses Imhofe's snowball debacle,,,,

[One_Life_To_Give]

8. More Sexy to fight terror than break ice.

With USCG under DHS don't expect this to improve anytime soon.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

15. More links

Massive Ice Chunks Cause Great Lakes Traffic Jam

Photos: Freighters frozen on Lake Superior