Ice Breaking Issues - March 2026

[Sandpiper565]

This winter broke the 80 year old historical snowfall amount at Sault Ste. Marie. Hence will also have a big impact on ice conditions.

Currently there are 8 Ice breakers in the St Mary's River and co-areas, with the 9th ice breaker Vincent Massey now heading back home. When the ice piles up and jams in the bends or corners of the river, makes it hard for the freighters to make their big turns. Breaking the ice and flushing it out, is an interesting task for the ice breakers.

You can;
Watch the ice breakers and freighters on the https://ais.boatnerd.com webcams.
Listen to the ice breakers and freighters on the https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/40798 marine scanner.

[Central Ohio Nerd]

You don't need them until you need them...5 Great Lakes and one "heavy" icebreaker/bouy tender. As bad as its been in the upper lakes thank heaven it wasn't as severe in the lower lakes this season..you could compound the problems really quickly if it had been. I just come from the school of thought that it's better to have the tool and not need it vs needing it and not having it. Five great lakes...thats alot of water and ice to try and maintain. But hats off to both Coast Guards for the hard work and dedication they have put forth against a very daunting task.

[Guest]

Does this really happen much any more? This past winter was a cold one but I don't think we really have them like this much any more. I don't think for a once in a while problem we need another new ice breaker. No one is stopping LCA from building one if they really need one. And if it's that big of an issue why don't they build there ships to better handle ice conditions?

[Guest]

Seems that buying a used anchor handling tug from the GOM would be the quickest way to add an ice breaker to the fleet.

As long as the USCG didn't go over the top with bringing it to full military specs - if it breaks ice and can perform SAR that should be good enough.

[john mcgraw]

At least six freighters upbound are either stuck or delayed in the corridor (some for days)......this despite two icebreakers attempting to assist.
This is a huge loss for the shipping industry, leading to lost time, and delayed deliveries........

By the way the USCG Ice Breaker Storis was formally a commercial vessel, built in American yards, and purchased by the USCG in 2024 and now active out of the USCG Seattle base (its to be shifted to Juneau, when dock modifications are complete). So purchasing private ice breakers for USCG use can be done if the will is there in Congress and USCG Hq. This season proves the necessity to get moving on this issue.

[Guest]

James R. Barker seems to be stuck below Johnson Point this morning, much as the Cort was yesterday.

[Guest]

Why not open the locks based on weather and ice conditions? April 25 would have been more appropriate this year. Companies may need to stockpile more raw materials, but there are plenty of hulls available to make up for a shorter shipping season and at lower cost to taxpayers.

The current situation above and below the Soo locks and St. Mary's River is completely unacceptable, with commercial vessels and even USCG ice breakers stuck in the spring ice.

Below freezing temps at night have complicated the situation. For example the Victory/Maumee was delayed for over a week leaving the Port of Buffalo due to heavy ice conditions that even the USCG Bristol Bay could not solve. The Victory now delayed again up bound for her first cargo load of the season. These delays are very costly to the shipping industry.

The USCG desperately needs another heavy icebreaker on the GL, and they need it soon. Its time to go the USCG Storis route and purchase an icebreaker from private sources.

[Guest]

The Stewart J. Cort has four EMD 645 engines for a total of 14,200 hp. I have no idea if there are mechanical issues or an "overly cautious" captain. We don't know what the issues are, so we can only speculate. Many times in the Spring you can have brash ice that extends down to the bottom of the shipping channel making it very difficult for a vessel to turn because of the ice pressure on the sides.

I'm enclosing the climatological daily data from NWS Alpena for Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. On April 7, 2026 the daily temperature was -16.9 degrees below average.

[Central Ohio Nerd]

I agree with John McGraw completely...and I also think two heavy icebreakers would be in order considering the paper tiger Mackinaw 30 has been on the sidelines way too much this ice season...like in other heavy ice seasons of the past. The only thing the shipping industry has going for them this ice season is that the lower portion of the great lakes has been relatively ice free and or manageable. Hopefully the powers that be take this lesson and learn from it and correct the icebreaker short comings before it hits us at a more crucial time.

[JP Burgoyne]

Again, I agree..... so here's my observations from watching this spring from the turn between Johnson's and Stribling point.
The vessel with the most issues..... The Cort (both trips upbound were not good) and she has casued the most delay of any ships so far.
Watching this vessel try to push thru the icepack is confusing at best. I assume the Cort has twin engines so normally you would see the cooling water being pumped out of the stern on both sides right? Not yesterday, only one side. You would think you would see some significant exhaust from the stacks each time she tries to move forward. Nope next to nothing actually. And what is even more confusing is to watch the water churned astern of the vessel from the props. It seems to start and then stop and start and then stop. It's like she isnt trying very hard. Maybe an overly cautious skipper??
Does anyone know if the Cort has some type of propulsion issue? If she has issues then why would they allow her to proceed into this problem area if she is likely to plug the hole like a cork.
I believe we are past 48 hours now trying to get her from the split below Johnsons to north of Stribling.
I also cant figure out why the joint coast guards would send the smaller Spar to Whitefish Bay and the Risley to Thunder Bay. Seem backwards to me. Katmai Bay and Mackinaw have been tied up in the Soo for more than a day as well.
Just my 2 cents is all............

[Denny]

While I cannot say IF this is related to the Ice Breaking Issues or not, take a look at the amount of ships still in lay up yet and have yet to sail! Three 1,000 footers all from ASC so far have yet to sail this year. The American Century, Integrity and the American Spirit are all still laid up. Grand River Navigation still has a bunch of their ships and tug/barges in lay up. The Kaye E. Barker from Interlake is still in lay up in Toledo. So far, Great Republic remains in lay up in Toledo but they will be out soon and sailing. Algoma still has a bunch of their ships in lay up and CSL also has a few yet to fit out and sail this year. Another interesting fact, so far this Spring there has not been too many salt loads going out on the Algoma ships! The CSL ships have done a few loads but not very many though.

[john mcgraw]

The current situation above and below the Soo locks and St. Mary's River is completely unacceptable, with commercial vessels and even USCG ice breakers stuck in the spring ice.

Below freezing temps at night have complicated the situation. For example the Victory/Maumee was delayed for over a week leaving the Port of Buffalo due to heavy ice conditions that even the USCG Bristol Bay could not solve. The Victory now delayed again up bound for her first cargo load of the season. These delays are very costly to the shipping industry.

The USCG desperately needs another heavy icebreaker on the GL, and they need it soon. Its time to go the USCG Storis route and purchase an icebreaker from private sources.

[Guest]

I'm confused by YouTube. Did the LEE A get stuck in the ice again?

[Mn bob]

The Lee a Tregurtha was stuck in the ice outside of the Duluth harbor and was freed. They had a change of orders from originally loading in Marquette to loading at cn docks in Duluth that’s why they turned around and came back into port. They have since loaded and are heading to Cleveland. I don’t believe they sustained any damage from the ice.

[Denny]

Don’t know about any ships so far regarding any ice damage to them. In regards to the Lee A. Tregurtha question you asked, I think it was ice off the Duluth Piers and entrance that caused and forced her to go back into Duluth? The story about her is on the Boatnerd News on the News Page. Hope this information helps you out.

[Guest]

Any reports of ships being damaged by the ice?

Does anyone know why the LEE A TREGURTHA left Duluth and then came right back?

[Guest]

Any new icebreaker for USCG on the Great Lakes will have to be multi-mission capable. It's very costly to have a singe-mission asset like the 1944 Mackinaw sitting around, doing goodwill post calls in the Summer, and then only going about its task in the Winter. That's too expensive and always makes such a vessel liable to being de-funded. That's what happened in the 1980s and '90s with the 1944 Mackinaw. It was just by luck and a lot of push by congressional members that it was saved from retirement at that time.

The US could buy an off-the-shelf commercial icebreaker, like the Judy LaMarsh, but it would most likely be a foreign-built vessel. Would congress and the administration allow such a purchase?

I'm disappointed at what the head of the LCA said about Canada's assistance in icebreaking on the lakes. He knows that the Great Lakes are bi-national waters, shared by both countries and that we work together for the good of all people using these waters. It also applies to our bi-national agreements on joint security, such as NORAD that goes back decades. There is no reason for animosity, we are friends, family and neighbours.

Well said!

[Andrew]

It almost surprises me that the Coast Guard has not sent one of their east coast stationed Junipers to help with icebreaking duty, especially considering the Mackinaw is down and the Sequoia is out indefinitely. The Oak and Sycamore are both in Newport, RI, and the Willow is in Charleston, SC. Wouldn't be extraordinarily difficult or detrimental for one of them to come into the lakes for a week or two.

[Guest]

this may start a firestorm, which certainly is not my intent. To what extent should icebreaking operations (both USCG and CCG) be based on conditions rather than a date on the calendar? Some winters the late January runs are problematic in certain areas, and free and open in others. Same is true for the March start of the season. This winter along the St. Mary's is certainly one that begs the question of if the effort is warranted for a few weeks. Yes, the amount of commerce that moves has incredible value. But one must ask what the value is with vessels sitting in ice along with tremendous ice-breaking efforts being spent. At some point there has to be a cost value discussion both on the LCA and CG sides.

Totally agree. At a time when we should be conserving fuel, what would two or three more weeks of waiting mean for steel mills? So they should go into the winter with slightly bigger stockpiles.

I could see when power plants were running out of coal but those days are over.

Not every season has the ice like this.

[Guest]

Any new icebreaker for USCG on the Great Lakes will have to be multi-mission capable. It's very costly to have a singe-mission asset like the 1944 Mackinaw sitting around, doing goodwill post calls in the Summer, and then only going about its task in the Winter. That's too expensive and always makes such a vessel liable to being de-funded. That's what happened in the 1980s and '90s with the 1944 Mackinaw. It was just by luck and a lot of push by congressional members that it was saved from retirement at that time.

The US could buy an off-the-shelf commercial icebreaker, like the Judy LaMarsh, but it would most likely be a foreign-built vessel. Would congress and the administration allow such a purchase?

I'm disappointed at what the head of the LCA said about Canada's assistance in icebreaking on the lakes. He knows that the Great Lakes are bi-national waters, shared by both countries and that we work together for the good of all people using these waters. It also applies to our bi-national agreements on joint security, such as NORAD that goes back decades. There is no reason for animosity, we are friends, family and neighbours.