GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – If you plan to venture out onto the frozen waters of Green Bay for any outdoor activities, you need to be aware of ice-breaking operations.
The shipping season on the Bay isn’t over, just yet.
The 730-foot freighter Algosteel was loaded with salt and headed for the port of Green Bay on Wednesday.
Dean Haen, Port of Green Bay Director, tells FOX 11 the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mobile Bay, cleared the way.
“They’ll make a track. They break the ice, and then they come back. They move at a faster speed, and they’ll kind of flip some of the ice on top of itself, creating a traffic lane.”
A 70-100 foot wide traffic lane. The open water path stretches from Sturgeon Bay all the way to Green Bay.
“The concern is, whether you’re a snowmobiler, lost fisherman or whatever it may be, that tries to go across. I wouldn’t advise anyone to plan on crossing the bay east to west,” said Haen.
“They’re telling us anywhere from 8-14,15 inches of ice,” said Scott Gille, Smokey’s On the Bay Bait Shop.
Gille tells FOX 11 ice conditions on the Bay are good, and so is the fishing.
He says anglers notice the ships coming in.
“When the cutter went through, they can kind of feel the pressure of the water being moved around underneath them. But it’s not like it’s cracking or opening up. It’s just more of a sensation that they kind of hear the rumbling of the pressure cracks.”
Haen says people can expect to see the ice breakers, and other vessels until the third week of January.
“Just know where you are, and what you’re doing. And stay away from the shipping lanes. The ice breakers are out there. That’s what they’re here for and they’re working.”
14 terminals make up the Port of Green Bay.
About 200 ships visit the each year, importing and exporting about two million tons of cargo.
