The effort to strengthen the U.S. Coast Guard's icebreaking fleet in the Great Lakes continues after shipping industry leaders say they lost 82 days of their latest season because of the lack of icebreaking capacity.
The ongoing struggle to fight ice has prompted federal lawmakers across the Great Lakes region to push the Coast Guard to develop a new icebreaker.
U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City, and other members of Michigan's congressional delegation recently wrote a letter to Coast Guard officials, asking them to comply with long-standing legislation that required them to start preliminary efforts to put another heavy icebreaker on the water.
"What we're using now is outdated and doesn't do the job that we need it to do in order to break up those big chunks of ice," McDonald Rivet told WCMU in an interview.
The USCGC Mackinaw, the only heavy icebreaker on the Great Lakes, was considered partially mission capable this season and was unable to travel through the Soo Locks.
Eric Peace is vice president of the Lake Carriers Association. He said the delays started as soon as the season kicked off.
"When you lose 82 days of ship time, you don't get those back," Peace said.
Almost all of American iron ore passes through the Soo Locks, and the Great Lakes shipping industry is valued at $5 billion by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Peace said significant delays can lead to a nationwide loss of steel production.
McDonald Rivet received a written response from the Coast Guard outlining the progress made thus far. The agency said that funding for designing and planning has been allocated and is currently under “executive review”
“I agree on the importance of the Coast Guard's ability to support the Great Lakes' essential marine transportation system and I appreciate your continued support,” wrote U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Kevin Lunday to McDonald Rivet. “The Coast Guard takes its congressional obligations seriously, including those under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 and prior authorizations.”
McDonald Rivet said the Coast Guard also attributed slow progress to a lack of personnel. She said that while the strain from a lack of personnel was understandable, it's "not an excuse" because getting more icebreakers on the water is "too important of an issue for all of the Great Lakes Region."
The Coast Guard did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story.
A study commissioned by the Lake Carriers Association analyzed the economic impacts of icebreaking-related delays during the 2018-19 shipping season, a period which also had significant ice cover.
It found that over 5,000 jobs were dependent upon the U.S.-flagged fleet’s ability to deliver cargo throughout the Great Lakes region were lost, and estimated that the maritime industry lost over $1 billion in revenue.
The Great Lakes icebreaking fleet consists of 11 vessels total, nine of which are U.S. operated. Just under 50 years ago, the fleet had 20 icebreakers.
Even with the Mackinaw fully operational, Peace said it's not enough to handle a heavy ice season.
"The beam's only half of what we need," he explained. "It's only 50-some feet wide. Our vessels are over 105 feet wide. So it requires two passes by the Mackinaw in order to keep traffic moving."
Official estimates have tacked a $350 million price tag on a new heavy icebreaker. Peace said the project won't take as long to complete as originally planned.
"Once we have significant appropriations and the Coast Guard [is] cutting steel, we are told that it could take three years, which is a lot better than what we heard a few years ago, which was 10 years," Peace said.
WCMU's Blace Carpenter contributed reporting to this story.
