Coast Guard's 2018 Icebreaking Season Under Way
More than 85 percent of the heating oil used in the country is consumed in the Northeast, and 90 percent of that is delivered by ship on a Coast Guard-maintained waterway.
The U.S. Coast Guard launched its 2018 icebreaking season on Dec. 17, as the winter's cold temperatures are anticipated to impact every port, waterway, and harbor in the Northeast, according to its news release, which said Operation Reliable Energy for Northeast Winters (OpRENEW) is the Coast Guard's region-wide effort to ensure Northeast communities have the security, supplies, energy, and emergency resources they need throughout the 2018-2019 winter.
More than 85 percent of the heating oil used in the country is consumed in the Northeast, and 90 percent of that is delivered by ship on a Coast Guard-maintained waterway. The Coast Guard's domestic icebreaking operations are intended to facilitate navigation within reasonable demands of commerce and minimize waterways closures during the winter while enabling commercial vessels to transit through ice-covered critical channels.
Coast Guard crews also are replacing aids to navigation with special ice buoys designed to ride underneath ice and remain on location.