Icy photos show Coast Guard, freighters pushing through Great Lakes freeze
by Tanda Gmiter | MLive 19 Jan 2018 06:19 PST
In this photo, bitter cold envelopes the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay and the 1,000-foot freighter Walter J. McCarthy Jr. as they prepare to lock down-bound above the Poe Lock © U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District
The groaning sound of metal hulls pushing through ice has been a growing refrain across much of The Great Lakes this week as the Arctic cold snap continued for a second week, leaving many freighters battling the deep freeze.
Ice coverage is nearing 30 percent in the region. A small fleet of U.S. Coast Guard cutters has been increasingly busy freeing freighters that have become trapped in the ice.
Each winter, the Coast Guard helps ensure the transport of more than $1 billion in cargo through the Great Lakes.
In mid-December, it kicked off Operation Taconite, the country's largest domestic icebreaking operation. This means each time one of the big freighters grinds to a halt against the ice in Lake Superior, Lake Huron or others, a Coast Guard cutter motors toward it to break up the ice and create a path to get the bigger ship on its way.
The Coast Guard and U.S. Army Corps have been sharing photos of frozen freighters and the icebreaking fleet this week. Here's a sampling.
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