The following is the text of a press release issued by the U.S. Coast Guard:
(DETROIT) — The U.S. Coast Guard is assisting a commercial vessel, in the St. Clair River, which has been delayed due to an ice jam in the vicinity of Algonac, Mich., Monday. Three other commercial vessels, which were beset in the ice on Sunday, have been relieved from the ice jam.
U.S. Coast Guard Cutters Neah Bay, homeported in Cleveland; Penobscot Bay, homeported in Bayonne, N.J.; Hollyhock, homported in Port Huron, Mich.; and Bristol Bay, homeported here, are working together to break the ice jam and allow vessels to transit the area.
U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Detroit crews are conducting overflights of the area and providing operational support to the icebreaking cutters.
Coast Guard assets will work together to create a navigable track for commercial vessels to transit. Commercial vessels will transit one after another in an order determined by each vessel’s horsepower.
“Our goal is to create an environment that allows vessels to transit the St. Clair River safely,†said Lt. Cmdr. Brian Donahue, Ninth Coast Guard District Chief of Aids-to-Navigation and Domestic Ice Breaking. “We will continue to work in the area until safe transit is possible.â€
