DULUTH, Minn. (Northern News Now) – A dozen vessels are stuck in thick ice in Lake Superior’s Whitefish Bay, awaiting help that officials say may or may not be coming.
Ships have to get through the bay before or after going through the nearby Soo Locks on the St. Marys River.
Conditions near the Duluth Superior Port and elsewhere on Lake Superior are milder, but Whitefish Bay is still covered in two feet of ice and three feet of snow.
With the U.S. Great Lakes commercial fleet stuck at a standstill, Lake Carriers’ Association vice president Eric Peace says the entire industry will feel the impacts.
“We have not been able to get a single load through. It’s been over almost three days. We’ve had vessels stuck for almost three days in that area. Unable to move, unable to deliver the cargo,” said Peace.
He says those few days will mean delays of weeks for the shipping industry and the steel industry left waiting for iron ore.
“The bottom line is we’re a $36 billion economy for shipping alone. And so it’s a huge impact,” said Peace.
Ice coverage above normal, icebreaker stuck below locks
Bryan Howell with NOAA says ice coverage was high this season.
“This year, Lake Superior peaked at about 60% ice coverage, which is above normal the long term average,” Howell said.
But leaders with the Lake Carriers’ Association say that’s not the only problem. They point to an engineering issue that’s trapped the Coast Guard’s only heavy icebreaker, the Mackinaw, below the Soo Locks, unable to reach Whitefish Bay.
“And the ice up there is so thick that the smaller icebreakers can’t do anything with it. So we need that heavy icebreaker up. Unfortunately, she can’t go up. So we are kind of dependent on the Canadians who abandoned us two, three days ago,” said Peace.
With Canada prioritizing Canadian vessels, Peace says the U.S. fleet is stuck waiting on warmer weather.
“The ice tends to refreeze during overnight hours, and it’s still so thick there, the larger boats especially can’t get through,” said Howell.
The Lake Carriers’ Association is pushing for federal funding for another U.S. heavy icebreaker. Peace says each day lost emphasizes the need.
“We’ve got to get as much as we can to those docks before the next January 15th arrives and the Soo Locks close. So we’re already down,” said Peace.
On Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spar headed north from the Twin Ports to help in Canada’s Thunder Bay. The Lake Carriers’ Association hopes that will free up Canadian heavy icebreakers to be sent south to Whitefish Bay.
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