Finland's Icebreaking Season Draws to a Close
![© Marko Hannula / Adobe Stock](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/marko-hannula-adobe-stock-150827.jpeg)
Finland's 2023–2024 icebreaking season concluded on May 31, as Arctia icebreaker Otso returned to base in Helsinki.Finnish state-owned Arctia operates a fleet of vessels that provide icebreaking services for the Finnish Transport Agency during winter, clearing frozen shipping lanes and freeing any vessels that get stuck in the ice.Due to an exceptionally cold early winter that quickly lowered surface water temperatures, the icebreaking season began earlier than usual, starting in November for the first time since 2010.
Arctic and Antarctic Sea Ice Reach Minimum Extent for 2023
![Images courtesy of National Snow and Ice Data Center](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/images-courtesy-of-national-snow-144273.png)
Arctic sea ice likely reached its minimum extent for the year at 4.23 million square kilometers (1.63 million square miles) on September 19, 2023, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder.The 2023 minimum is ranked sixth lowest in the nearly 45-year satellite record. The last 17 annual minimum extents are the lowest 17 in the satellite record.NSIDC scientists stress that the Arctic sea ice extent number is preliminary…
Operation Coal Shovel: US Coast Guard Kicks Off Great Lakes Icebreking
![USCG Cutter Neah Bay assisted the M/V James R. Barker (carrying 54,000 tons of taconite) stuck in Detroit East Outer Channel on Wednesday. The Barker and three vessels in the convoy were moving again carrying a total of 99,000 tons of taconite and over 19,000 tons of sand. (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/uscg-cutter-neah-bay-assisted-137632.jpg)
The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday commenced Operation Coal Shovel, a domestic icebreaking operation to maintain commercial vessel traffic from southern Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair, to the St. Clair / Detroit River system, and into Lake Erie and Lake Ontario including the St. Lawrence Seaway.U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers work together in these waterways as conditions worsen throughout the winter to ensure the ability to conduct search-and-rescue, exigent community service, and the facilitation of navigation to meet the reasonable demands of commerce.Both the U.S.
Canadian Coast Guard Begins Great Lakes Icebreaking
![CCGS Samuel Risley performs icebreaking duties on the St. Marys River, Ontario in March 2021. (CNW Group/Canadian Coast Guard)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/ccgs-samuel-risley-performs-icebreaking-128818.jpg)
The Canadian Coast Guard's (CCG) annual icebreaking season on the Great Lakes, which provides assistance to the shipping industry, is underway. Working in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) District 9, the CCG has two icebreakers assigned to the Great Lakes for the entire winter season: CCGS Griffon and CCGS Samuel Risley. These vessels are supported as required by additional CCG vessels after the St. Lawrence Seaway reopens in March 2022.Although the St. Lawrence Seaway, Welland Canal and Sault Ste.
US Coast Guard Kicks Off Northeast Icebreaking Season
![A U.S. Coast Guard boatcrew from Aids To Navigation Team Long Island Sound navigates the Connecticut River in support of Operation Reliable Energy for Northeast Winters (RENEW) near Haddam, Conn., December 19, 2020. Operation RENEW is the Coast Guard's region-wide effort to ensure Northeast communities have the security, supplies, energy and emergency resources they need throughout the winter. (Photo: Katie Loudermilk / U.S. Coast Guard)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/a-us-coast-guard-boatcrew-118984.jpg)
The U.S. Coast Guard has launched its icebreaking season, helping to maintain the flow of essential maritime commerce as as winter’s cold temperatures are anticipated to impact every port, waterway and harbor in the Northeast throughout the coming months.Operation Reliable Energy for Northeast Winters (RENEW) is the Coast Guard's region-wide effort to ensure Northeast communities have the security, supplies, energy and emergency resources they need throughout the winter. Of all the heating oil used in the U.S.…