U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Services Director Mark Gill confirmed 12 vessels stuck in 12-feet of Lake Superior ice.
Using the Marine Traffic application may not allow viewers to see all current traffic, as one antenna has reportedly been compromised by unfavorable weather conditions.
“We have a contractor fixing that antenna,” said Gill.
Five vessels were traveling according to schedule over the weekend when forced to anchor down in Whitefish Bay, due to massive 15-foot lake waves brought on by 40 mph Gale-force winds. As winds died down and anchors lifted, the ships quickly found themselves trapped in solid ice.
Five additional upbound vessels and two more downbound vessels sat frozen alongside them. Vessels heading down to Gary Harbor, IN included Great Lakes Fleet Sister ships Edwin H. Gott and Edgar B. Speer, the first two to float through the Poe Lock early Friday morning.
The Griffin of Canada and Mackinaw icebreakers are working hard to break free the downbound ships this evening, hoping to free the others by late tomorrow.
“We have to lead them one by one,” said Gill. “Because it is so thick, we can only do one at a time.”
Today’s northwest wind has not helped matters, Gill explained when calling Whitefish Bay “The drain of Lake Superior.”
“The wind is pressing ice down,” he said, counting on tomorrow’s south wind to free things up a bit.
Gill assured that no one is in danger aboard the 12 ships.
“This is a normal occurrence for this time of year,” GIll said. “The weather is untimely but normal.”
