Contact: Ninth Coast Guard District Public Affairs Office
(216) 902-6020
| Ninth District External Affairs U.S. Coast Guard |
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| News Release |
Date: March 13, 2009 Contact: Ninth District Public Affairs Office |
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Coast Guard conducts Operation Spring Breakout CLEVELAND - The Ninth Coast Guard District commenced Operation Spring Breakout, an icebreaking operation facilitating navigation to meet the reasonable demands of commerce on the Great Lakes, Monday, March 9, 2009. The operation is expected to continue for the remainder of the ice season. Operations Coal Shovel and Taconite, two major operations conducted during the icebreaking season, ensure the most efficient movement of vessels through the entire Great Lakes. As part of Taconite and under the control of Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., Spring Breakout encompasses Lake Superior, the St. Marys River, the Straits of Mackinac, Lake Michigan and northern Lake Huron. Coal Shovel encompasses southern Lake Huron, St. Clair/Detroit River systems, and Lakes Erie and Ontario, and includes the St. Lawrence Seaway. Based on ice conditions, assets are dedicated to specific areas in coordination with our international partners and with various Great Lakes shipping companies. Due to the cold temperatures and greater concentrations of ice that have accumulated this year, an additional icebreaker from the First Coast Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Thunder Bay, a 140-foot icebreaking tug homeported in Rockland, Maine, will be temporarily assigned to the Great Lakes region in order to ensure the Coast Guard can complete its domestic icebreaking mission. Thunder Bay will temporarily augment the other eight Coast Guard icebreakers that call the Great Lakes home. "Despite the slow economy and late sailing of ships, the Coast Guard is still going forth with ice breaking operations in preparation for the opening of the Sault Ste. Marie locks, scheduled for March 25," said Mark Gill, director of Vessel Traffic Service, Sector Sault Ste. Marie. "Citizens should be aware that our ice breaking operations, coupled with dynamic weather and winds, can create hazardous conditions on the ice," added Gill. "Anyone venturing out onto the ice should make sure to notify someone of where they'll be going and their intended time of return." The Coast Guard encourages waterways users to plan their activities carefully, use caution on the ice, and stay away from shipping channels. Owners of facilities on the ice should move them safely onshore or sufficiently away from the commercial channels. The Coast Guard strongly advises pedestrians, fishers and snowmobilers to leave the ice when they see the icebreaker in the immediate vicinity. Recreational users and island residents should stay tuned to local media resources for the status of waterway closures. "The continued viability of the Great Lake system of waterways is vital to the national security of the country. Sometimes a multi-regional Coast Guard and Canadian team effort is required to facilitate the prompt resumption of trade after a hard ice season," said Vice Adm. Robert J. Papp Jr., commander of the U.S. Coast Guard's Atlantic Area in Portsmouth, Va. "My operational commander in New England has reviewed their anticipated ice-breaking needs in Maine and is confident those needs will be met with their regional assets, while also temporarily deploying the Rockland-based Thunder Bay to support the Great Lakes mission this year." Images of the USCGC Mackinaw conducting Operation Spring Breakout can be found by clicking: PICTURE #1 - PICTURE #2 - PICTURE #3 - PICTURE #4 - PICTURE #5. Any media interested in getting underway with an icebreaker, obtaining b-roll footage of icebreaking operations or any other information regarding Spring Breakout or Coast Guard icebreaking operations should contact the Ninth District Public Affairs Office at (216)-902-6020. ### Saving Lives and Guarding the Coast Since 1790.
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