Notice of Public Interest: Spring Icebreaking Operations to Begin in Thunder Bay Area

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - March 26, 2014) - The Canadian Coast Guard in partnership with the United States Coast Guard and the Ontario Provincial Police, is advising residents and visitors that annual spring icebreaking operations will start on/or around March 27, 2014 in Thunder Bay on Lake Superior.

• The United States Coast Guard Cutters KATMAI BAY and MORRO BAY will assist with harbour breakout in Thunder Bay this Thursday and Friday, March 27^th and 28^th. The USCG Cutter Alder will arrive on Saturday, March 29th to provide additional icebreaking capacity in the area.

Dates and routes are subject to change with little or no notice due to operational requirements or sudden and significant changes to weather and ice conditions.

The 2013-2014 winter has produced unusually heavy and persistent ice conditions throughout the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Canadian Coast Guard crews and icebreakers have been working hard to provide icebreaking services during such a challenging time.

The Canadian Coast Guard strongly recommends that fishermen and snowmobilers and other recreational users leave the ice immediately if they see an icebreaker in the vicinity. The ice may move or break apart even at a significant distance, creating a hazard for anyone in the area of an icebreaker. All personal property, temporary structures and recreational equipment, should also be moved to shore well before these dates.

Quick Facts

• Icebreaking operations and shipping traffic create fragmented ice or open water that may be: difficult to see from afar; may be obscured by newly fallen snow; may not refreeze immediately and may be further weakened due to changes in weather.
• Icebreaking creates locally unstable ice conditions or open water that may persist long after ships have left the area.
• All ice near icebreaking operations and shipping activity should be considered unsafe.
• Canadian Coast Guard and United States Coast Guard assets in the Great Lakes are working hard together to maintain or open routes for maritime commerce, despite extreme and persistent ice conditions on the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Associated Links

- http://www.uscg.mil/d9/sectDetroit/

- http://www.opp.ca/

For more information about the Canadian Coast Guard, visit www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca

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