Ice Cutters on the Great Lakes
On Wednesday, January 22nd, a Canadian freighter, the Manitoulin, became stuck in the ice of Lake Erie not far from Buffalo. The vessel had been dropping off wheat at the port in Buffalo and was on its way back to Canada. It took multiple days and a coordinated effort by the Canadian and US Coast Guards to free the ship. The Manitoulin was eventually freed by the work of three ice cutters.
When we went to the Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo in early September 2023, one of the videos and exhibits that made the greatest impression on me was about ice cutting on the Great Lakes. The video of the ships and crews out plowing paths through fields of ice cover generated an emotional response for me: respect, admiration, and pride in this region and the essential, often not-glamorous work that happens here.
Why are ice cutters needed? The main reason is to keep shipping channels open as much as possible to keep goods moving around the region. Many of these are raw materials like the wheat the Manitoulin was carrying. Other likely goods would be iron ore, salt, coal or lumber.
There usually are boats that will continue running through the winter on the lower Great Lakes. Lake Superior does close at the height of the winter due to the Soo Locks closing often mid-January to mid-March. A post by the Army Corps of Engineers at 3 AM on January 16th stated that the American Mariner had been the final ship to pass through the Soo Locks for the season and they would be closed until March 25th. It noted that through the prior 10-month season, about 68 million tons of cargo had passed through the locks.
How do ships cut the ice? I will be honest that I thought there was a blade involved. But this is not the case at all! Ice cutting ships break up ice with a combination of weight, speed and a unique shape to their bow. The bow shape is akin to a football. The boat is actually designed to ride up onto the ice and then essentially slam down onto it, breaking the sheet. The boat itself then clears the ice to the side as it moves through and often escorts cargo ships until they hit more unfrozen waters.
This interview with Lt. Cmd. Stephen Nolan from the US Coast Guard and the Bristol Bay ship that was aiding the efforts to free the Manitoulin is really quite interesting. He does a great job explaining how the ice cutters work and how they free a trapped ship. He describes the investigative paths that need to be carved around the trapped ship to figure out where the ice is least dense.
He described that while frigid temperatures and wind can be challenging conditions for ice cutters, the thing he worries about the most is snow. Snow can stick and pile up on the ice fields making it hard to discern some of the conditions, ice density and obstruct sight lines.
And then there is this video about the joint effort between the US and Canadian Coast Guards to keep the Great Lakes open for the shared interest of commerce. Set to a dynamic, exhilarating soundtrack, it felt like an ironic watch for a week when relations between the US and Canada become more, well, shall we say chilly?
