St Clair River requires USCG and CCG icebreakers

St Clair River icebreaking continues to keep the Great Lakes icebreakers busy. This mission is a combination of flood control and aid to navigation.

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DETROIT -- The U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards are scheduled to conduct ice breaking operations in the St. Clair River, beginning at approximately 10 a.m., Monday Feb. 22, in order to mitigate possible flood activity due to a nine-mile long ice jam there, and address low-water levels on Lake St. Clair.

U.S. Coast Guard cutters involved include the Neah Bay, Mobile Bay and Mackinaw. Also participating will be the Canadian Coast Guard Cutter Samuel Risley.

“This year we have seen a large amount of ice in the river system; this ice stacks up and stops the natural flow of water, which may be contributing to lower water levels in Lake St. Clair and higher risk of flooding in communities along the St. Clair River above the jam,” said Cmdr. Joseph Snowden, Ice Officer at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Detroit.

Ice jam on the St Claire River

When the going gets tough, the tough 140' CG icebreakers get going through the ice on the St. Claire River near Detroit.

DETROIT–The U.S. Coast Guard is assisting a commercial vessel, in the St. Clair River, which has been delayed due to an ice jam in the vicinity of Algonac, Mich., Monday.

Three other commercial vessels, which were beset in the ice on Sunday, have been relieved from the ice jam.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutters Neah Bay, homeported in Cleveland; Penobscot Bay, homeported in Bayonne, N.J.; Hollyhock, homported in Port Huron, Mich.; and Bristol Bay, homeported here, are working together to break the ice jam and allow vessels to transit the area.