SAULT STE. MARIE, MI— The Great Lakes shipping season has hit a snag due to ice.
The lower St. Marys River and Whitefish Bay are clogged with it, and the Great Lakes fleet is at a standstill only two days after the Poe Lock officially opened for the season.
The Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw is currently laid up because of engineering problems, and there’s no other heavy icebreaker that can take its place. No ship has passed downbound from Duluth at this point and no cargo has been delivered to steel mills on the southern lakes.
Officials with the Lake Carriers’ Association say they’ve asked Congress to get another heavy icebreaker on the Great Lakes, but that has not yet happened. If the situation continues, U.S. steelmakers will feel the pain.
