US Coast Guard cutters are busy trying to keep New York’s iced-over waterways moving, including freeing an NYPD Harbor Unit vessel that was beset by ice floes Tuesday.
A displaced polar vortex parked over the eastern U.S. has helped usher in days of subfreezing temperatures and caused many parts of the Hudson River and New York Harbor — one of the busiest in the country — to freeze over.
The Coast Guard Cutter Hawser broke the ice around a NYPD harbor vessel on January 27, just off Pier 86 on the west side of Midtown Manhattan, the Coast Guard’s Northeast District wrote on a social media post.
Ice could be heard crunching against the reinforced hull of the 65-foot-long Cutter Hawser. Thanks to the USCG Cutter Hawser’s small size, it is one of very few Coast Guard cutters capable of traveling through inland waterways from New York Harbor north to Lake Champlain near the Canadian border.
The Coast Guard received a request from the NYPD to break the ice around the police department’s Hudson River facilities that were iced in, US Coast Guard Captain Johnathan Andrechik told FOX Weather Meteorologists Marissa Torrres and Stephen Morgan on Weather Command Wednesday.
Captain Andrechik said the Coast Guard was prepared for increased icing as temperatures are expected to stay at or below freezing for the next few weeks.
“It’s certainly more ice than we saw last year, and it is a dynamic situation,” Captain Andrechik said.
For the first time in several years, New York City suspended all ferry service Wednesday due to the widespread icy conditions. New York Waterway, a popular private ferry operator with service to New Jersey, also suspended several routes as well.
“Our experienced teams are working to safely navigate these challenging cold weather conditions. Modified service continues to be in effect today — we are not suspending service,” NY Waterway said in a statement.
New York Harbor is an estuary, a mix of freshwater from the Hudson River and saltwater from the Atlantic Ocean.
While saltwater freezes at approximately 28 degrees, significantly colder than freshwater, the arctic blast that ushered in this weekend’s winter storm and subsequent polar plunge have created significant ice floes throughout the waterway.
Andrechik mentioned that ice has been reported as far north on the Hudson as Albany, some 150 miles north.
Captain Andrechik underscored how important icebreaking is for public safety, but also the key role it plays in keeping the Northeast’s energy supply lines moving and the regional economic hub open for business.
“It is a unique mission for the Coast Guard, something that very few of our Coast Guard personnel around the country get to do. But I can tell you, our crew, they’re well-trained they look forward to each mission because they understand the importance that it has,” Captain Andrechik said.
