GREAT LAKES MARITIME TASK FORCE MEETING 12 November 2015 Lieutenant Commander R. Steven Kingsley
USCG 9 th District Waterways Management Office Captain Paul Arnett Prevention Division Chief 216-902-6046 Commander Tony Maffia Waterways Management 216-902-6064 Lt Commander Steven Kingsley Ice OPS Supervisor 216-902-6065 Lt Junior Grade Matt Stroebel OPS Scheduler 216-902-6060 Lt Junior Grade Rachel Christensen ATON/DOMICE Support 216-902-6066
Ice Co
2015-16 Great Lakes Outlook Model predictions indicate a milder than normal winter for the Great Lakes region Forecasted El Nino for this fall/winter is expected to be strong to very strong El Nino conditions typically generate warmer than normal and drier than normal conditions in the Great Lakes region Great Lakes water temperatures are above normal Ice Forecast: Below normal ice conditions
Hours USCG D9 Icebreaking Hours Last 16 Years 14,000 USCG Icebreaking Hours by Year 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11 11-12 12-13 13-14 14-15 Ice Breaking Season
OPERATION TACONITE Commenced operations began on 02 January 2015 122 days of ice breaking 6,805 hours Assisted 677 commercial vessels transits 353 of these transits required direct ice breaking assistance Operation Taconite ended on 04 May 2015
OPERATION COAL SHOVEL Commenced operations on 08 January 2015 100 days of ice breaking 2,429 hours Assisted 153 commercial vessel transits Operation Coal Shovel secured on 17 April 2015
EMPLOYMENT OF ICEBREAKERS WATERWAY CLASSIFICATIONS ICE BREAKING ASSISTANCE OPERATIONAL PHASES OF ICE BREAKING TIER ONE PI / VA / DA Extended, Closed, Breakout TIER TWO PI VA* / DA * Extended, Breakout (Closed Season Upon Request) TIER THREE PI* / VA* / DA * Extended, Breakout (Closed Season Upon Request) TIER FOUR Exigent Only* Extended, Closed, Breakout * = If Commercial Assistance not available PI Preventive Icebreaking VA Vessel Assistance DA Direct Assistance
WINTER NAVIGATION PERIODS Extended Navigation Season: ice begins until Sault Locks close (typically on or around 15 Jan) and the bulk of the commercial fleet reaches their winter layup ports (typically nlt 20 Jan) Closed Navigation Season: end of the extended season (typically nlt 20 Jan); officially begins the Monday after lock closure at 0800. Continues until Spring Break Out (on or about 10 March, approx. two weeks before lock opening) Spring Break Out: End of closed navigation season until ice no longer impedes navigation.
Light/Moderate Ice Season ALDER MACKINAW Assets Available - 10-5 -Mobile Bay -Morro Bay -Katmai Bay -Neah Bay -Biscayne Bay -2 WLB -Hollyhock -Alder -1 WLBB -Mackinaw -CCG Medium Endurance -Samuel Risley -CCG High Endurance -Griffon * No gaps in coverage expected HOLLYHOCK SAMUEL RISLEY TACONITE COAL SHOVEL GRIFFON
Severe Ice Season Extended Season (up to 20 Jan) (Based on the 13-14 and 14-15 seasons) ALDER MACKINAW HEAVY* MEDIUM* Assets Available - 10-5 -Mobile Bay -Morro Bay -Katmai Bay -Neah Bay -Biscayne Bay -2 WLB -Hollyhock -Alder -1 WLBB -Mackinaw -CCG Medium Endurance -Samuel Risley -CCG High Endurance -Griffon HOLLYHOCK SAMUEL RISLEY TACONITE COAL SHOVEL * Gap requiring medium icebreaker capability ( or WLB) * Gap requiring heavy icebreaker (Canadian) GRIFFON
Severe Ice Season Spring Breakout (Based on the 13-14 and 14-15 seasons) ALDER MEDIUM* MACKINAW SAMUEL RISLEY HEAVY* Assets Available - 10-5 -Mobile Bay -Morro Bay -Katmai Bay -Neah Bay -Biscayne Bay -2 WLB -Hollyhock -Alder -1 WLBB -Mackinaw -CCG Medium Endurance -Samuel Risley -CCG High Endurance -Griffon HOLLYHOCK HEAVY* TACONITE COAL SHOVEL * Gap requiring medium icebreaker capability ( or WLB) * Gap requiring heavy icebreaker (Canadian) HEAVY*
MORRO BAY Service Life Extension Project (SLEP) Project Completion in 2020 D9 will continue to have 5 operational s per ice season
Daily Ice Breaking Calls The purpose of this call is to communicate with the Great Lakes shipping industry where the US and Canadian Coast Guard icebreaking assets will be operating based on existing and forecasted conditions, as well as validating requests for icebreaking service/assistance we have received from the shipping industry. Typical Agenda: Welcome (USCG D9 staff) Ice conditions and weather forecast/ questions (Environment Canada Ice Specialist) Canadian CG Asset employment/ questions (ROC Montreal) Operation COAL SHOVEL brief/ questions (Sector Detroit) Operation TACONITE brief/ questions (Sector Sault Ste Marie) General questions from shipping industry Closing- next call date (USCG D9 Staff) Calls are held at 10:00 Eastern Time Call in Number: 877-950-8419 Passcode: 95440805
Questions?