Updated 12/18/2008 07:00 PM
Coast Guard prepares to keep Hudson River clear of ice
ALBANY, N.Y. -- USCGC Sturgeon Bay Commanding Officer Lt. Scott Rae said, "Our ice season for the Coast Guard begins December 15th and runs until March."
There's no ice yet.
"This ship is about 20 years old," said Lt. Rae. "Built specifically for ice breaking."
But once the Hudson River freezes, the 140-foot Coast Guard Cutter Sturgeon Bay carves a path for the other ships from Albany to New York City.
Lt. Rae said, "We break ice for flood relief in rivers and tributaries that need relief so the towns and areas around rivers don't flood."
Lt. Rae said their mission is to provide security and keep the river clear for search and rescue, limit flooding risk, and keep necessary supplies moving from port to port.
"To navigate and help commerce move along the river, to move gasoline and home heating oil to and from different ports so folks have their gasoline and their oil," said Lt. Rae.
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Now you might be asking yourself how the cutter stays clear of ice itself. It has a bubble bath system - creating bubbles going around it which keeps the ice free and clear, allowing the ship to get underway and chop through ice as thick as 30 inches, continuously.
Chief Warrant Officer Chris Brady said, "It's a hull lubrication system. It's a giant air compressor. We have holes drilled through the bottom of the ship. When we blow air through the bottom, the water rushes up and helps us get through the ice a lot better."
The crew of 20 can live aboard the ship for weeks if needed. Lt. Rae said every three to five years they expect a major river freeze, something that hasn't happened now in a couple years.
He said, "Last year we had no ice at all...We might be due. The year before that was a light season, about six weeks long. We're entering that cycle now. So possibly we're due."
Lt. Rae said if there's no ice by mid-January, there probably won't be, giving anyone with an eye on the Hudson some insight into the weather, which can change the Hudson River Coast Guard from federal policemen to ice-cutting heroes - if you just add ice.