Coast Guard starts ice-breaking operations in Green Bay

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - Starting Tuesday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard will be opening up the southern part of Green Bay’s waters with an ice-breaking ship to allow commercial trade ships through the area again.

With ice already starting to melt, the Port of Green Bay requested an opening to allow commercial shipping again.

Two ice-breaking ships arrived Monday afternoon and will start ice-breaking operations at 7 a.m. Later this week, operations will expand to Escanaba, Mich., the Marinette-Menominee waters, then the Sturgeon Bay ship canal.

Anyone on the ice in those areas is being asked to plan their activities accordingly now that ships will be allowed to pass through again. Ice-breaking operations can weaken the ice even a long distance from where the ship went through.

Port director Dean Haen wrote in a statement, “The Port’s ability to handle shipping in the late winter/early spring is a key piece in the region’s supply chain and important for the economy of Northeast Wisconsin.”

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