The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alder heads out into the Twin Ports harbor to break ice Tuesday morning. In a release on Tuesday, the Cleveland-based 9th Coast Guard District announced that it is "preparing" for the 2009-10 icebreaking season in the Great Lakes, although that season obviously is under way here. The Coast Guard divides its Great Lakes icebreaking into Operation Taconite and Operation Coal Shovel,with Operation Taconite encompassing Lake Superior, the St. Marys river,t he Straits of Mackinac, Lake Michigan and northern Lake Huron. The New Jersey-based Cutter Penobscott Bay is being temporarily assigned to the Great Lakes to augment the other eight Coast Guard icebreakers, including the Alder.
Wednesday, Dec. 16
DULUTH ENTRY
Morning: Herbert C. Jackson, departing.
Afternoon: American Century, arriving to fuel and to load coal.
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Evening/night: Manitowac, arriving to load iron ore pellets; BBC Italy, departing with grain.
SUPERIOR ENTRY
Afternoon: Indiana Harbor, arriving to load iron ore pellets.
TWO HARBORS
Morning: Mesabi Miner, arriving to load iron ore pellets; Edgar B. Speer, arriving to load iron ore pellets.
Afternoon: Roger Blough, arriving to load iron ore pellets.
For updated information 24 hours a day, call the Boatwatcher's Hotline at (218) 722-6489.
Source: The Lake Superior Marine Museum in Canal Park, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Arrival and departure times are not official and can vary widely.
