Coast Guard Preparing To Break Up Ice For Green Bay Fuel Shipments

The U.S. Coast Guard is preparing to begin icebreaking operations in northwestern Lake Michigan.

The cutters Mackinaw and Mobile Bay are scheduled to begin work Tuesday on Green Bay. It’s part of the annual spring mission of clearing a path for shipments of fuel products to the Port of Green Bay.

Officials say operations will take place in areas used by recreational users. Among them will be the Fox River Entrance Channel, the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, Menominee River Entrance and the waters of Little Bay de Noc near Escanaba.

The Coast Guard says snowmobilers, all-terrain vehicle riders, ice anglers and others should use caution in those areas and recognize the growing instability of the ice.

Icebreaking will increase in coming weeks as thawing continues and commercial navigation picks up.