Icebreakers to start opening up St. Marys River channel

As spring approaches, the U.S. Coast Guard has plans to break ice on the St. Marys River.

A press release issued by the coast guard today says icebreaking operations will start this coming Thursday to open up the north and east portion of the Pipe Island Channel.

The full release from the U.S. Coast Guard reads as follows:

Coast Guard Cutters Biscayne Bay and Neah Bay will open the Pipe Island Channel, north and east of Pipe Island starting at 8 a.m. local time on Thursday, March 11, 2021.

The two icebreakers will fracture and flush the existing field of ice to open the up-bound channel of the St. Marys River, to the North and East of Pipe Island. Conducting this and other preparatory icebreaking facilitates the opening of the Sault Locks at noon March 24, 2021 and the start of the new shipping season.

The Coast Guard recommends that members of the public who recreate on the ice, particularly those who fish, or operate snowmobiles or all - terrain vehicles on ice-covered waters of the St Marys River, plan their activities carefully, use caution on the ice, and stay away from charted shipping channels. Ice breaking activity weakens the ice far beyond the tracks created by the icebreakers.

For more information, contact the U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service at (906) 635-3232 or via email at [email protected].