USCG Reports Record Icebreaking Season
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Katmai Bay conducts a direct assist of the motor vessel Calumet in the Straits of Mackinac at sunset Feb. 4, 2014. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Michael Patterson)
A yardstick measures the thickness of some of the ice that the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Katmai Bay is battling during ice-breaking operations in the Straits of Mackinac Feb. 5, 2014. The crew of the Katmai Bay, homeported in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., along with the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay, homeported in Detroit, have spent the past few days trying to keep the Straits open to shipping traffic. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Michael Patterson)
An MH-65C Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Mich., conducts hoist training operations with the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Katmai Bay Feb. 5, 2014. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman James Ash)
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Katmai Bay escorts the motor vessel Algo Steel through the Straits of Mackinac Feb. 7, 2014. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Michael Patterson)
Crew members of Coast Guard Cutter Katmai Bay, homeported in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., practice ice rescue techniques in the Straits of Mackinac Feb. 4, 2014. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Seaman Paul Walker)
During record Great Lakes icebreaking season, Michigan-based Coast Guard cutter strives to maintain proficiency in other mission areas
An early and intense winter season has meant an increased demand for ice-breaking operations for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) 9th District's icebreaking fleet, but that didn't stop the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Katmai Bay, homeported in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., from conducting important training earlier this week.
Across the district, icebreaking crews logged nearly four times the five-year average of operational ice-breaking hours during the first quarter of 2014.
But despite a record season for icebreaking hours by cutter crews, the Coast Guard said it will maintain focus on proficiency in all mission areas.
uscgnews.com
