New York waterways duties

Captains,

I visited several hard working New York Coast Guard units last week. Aids to Navigation Team (ANT) New York is located in Bayonne, NJ at the Bayonne Cruise Port and Ocean Terminal. ANT New York is responsible for maintaining nearly 600 aids and lighthouses in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The ANT's workhorses are two 49' BUSLs (upper right picture).

ANT New York is also homeport for cutters Katherine Walker (upper left), Hawser (lower left) and Penobscot Bay (lower right). CGC Katherine Walker is a 175' WLM responsible for over 300 floating aids in the tri-state area. CGC Hawser is a 65' WYTL and CGC Penobscot Bay is a 140' WTGB. Both have been very busy breaking ice in the Hudson River area.

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140' CGC Penobscot Bay heads back to Bayonne NJ

Captains

Thanks to the 140' Cutter Penobscot Bay from Bayonne NJ, cargo valued at $100 million transited the icy Great Lakes this year.

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CLEVELAND - The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Penobscot Bay is scheduled to depart here after spending the winter breaking ice on the Great Lakes. Capt. Lorne Thomas, Chief of Staff of the Ninth Coast Guard District, will oversee a brief recognition ceremony, Friday, at 10 a.m.

The 140-foot ice breaking cutter, whose original homeport is Bayonne, N.J., was temporarily assigned to the Great Lakes Region to augment the eight other Great Lakes-based ice breaking cutters with Operations Coal Shovel and Taconite, the Coast Guard's two major ice breaking operations here.

“Their presence (in the Great Lakes) ensured the Coast Guard provided the best level of service and kept commerce moving during the winter season,” said Cmdr. Kevin Dunn, Chief of Waterways Management for the Ninth Coast Guard District.

Penobscot Bay began Great Lakes operations on Jan. 2, 2010. The cutter participated in operations that cleared paths for more than 25 commercial freighters, and solely facilitated the safe navigation of 12 vessels. They spent more than 200 hours breaking Great Lakes ice, including more than 70 hours of preventative ice breaking to keep tracks and channels open for navigation. Overall, their efforts facilitated the safe transit of nearly one million tons of cargo valued at more than $100 million.

Icebreaking season begins in the Great Lakes

Captains,

An additional 140 ft ice breaker, USCGC Penobscot Bay, is making way to Lake Erie from Bayonne NJ to assist with this year's ice season (which has already begun). I'm following officially at our morning briefs and unofficially on facebook.

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Coast Guard prepares for 2009-2010 icebreaking season

Tuesday, 15 December 2009

The Ninth Coast Guard District is preparing for the 2009-2010 icebreaking season in the Great Lakes.

Coast Guard icebreaking operations are designed to facilitate the movement of commercial vessels to meet the reasonable demands of commerce on the Great Lakes and to assist the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with flood mitigation.

The Coast Guard conducts two major operations: Taconite and Coal Shovel. These operations ensure the most efficient movement of vessels through the entire Great Lakes region.

Operation Taconite, under the control of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., encompasses Lake Superior, the St. Marys River, the Straits of Mackinac, Lake Michigan and northern Lake Huron.

Coal Shovel, under the control of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Detroit, encompasses southern Lake Huron, St. Clair/Detroit River systems, and Lakes Erie and Ontario, and includes the St. Lawrence Seaway.

To ensure the highest state of readiness and the Coast Guard’s ability to complete this critical mission, an additional icebreaker from the First Coast Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Penobscot Bay, a 140-foot icebreaking tug, homeported in Bayonne, N.J., will be temporarily assigned to the Great Lakes region. Penobscot Bay will augment the other eight Coast Guard icebreakers that call the Great Lakes home.