Panel: Great Lakes Need More Boats To Break The Ice

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 11/12/2026) Shipping and emergency management officials today urged Michigan lawmakers to support permanently assigning two additional Coast Guard icebreakers to the Great Lakes, warning that insufficient capacity threatens cargo deliveries and shoreline communities.

The House Oversight Subcommittee on Homeland Security and Foreign Influence heard testimony supporting a resolution asking federal officials to station two Arctic security cutters in the region. No vote was taken.

Eric Pease, vice president of the Lake Carriers Association, said the U.S. fleet moves 20% of its cargo during winter ice conditions. Delays can prevent steel mills from stockpiling enough raw materials before the Soo Locks close for seasonal maintenance.

During winter 2025-26, shipping companies lost a combined 82 ship days to delays, Pease said. The association has asked the Army Corps of Engineers to extend the upcoming shipping season by 48 hours, keeping the locks open until Jan. 17 rather than Jan. 15.

Pease said the combined U.S. and Canadian icebreaking fleet has declined from 20 vessels in 1979 to 11, including nine American vessels and two Canadian vessels.

Aging equipment compounds the shortage, witnesses said, because replacement parts for older vessels may no longer be readily available.

Justin Westmiller, St. Clair County’s homeland security and emergency management director, said additional icebreakers would also help communities threatened by ice jams.

He described February 2021 flooding along the St. Clair River that left some homes with at least two feet of water on their first floors, affected municipal sewer systems and temporarily halted the Harsens Island ferry.

“Additional cutters will not eliminate every ice jam or prevent every flood downstream,” Westmiller said.

Still, he said, they would provide greater flexibility when existing vessels are undergoing maintenance or responding elsewhere.

Pease said federal funding approved in 2025 is supporting new Coast Guard icebreakers. Advocates want two Arctic security cutters assigned to the Great Lakes, where they could work during winter and potentially deploy to the Arctic during summer.

The request would also require crews and shoreside infrastructure, Westmiller said.

Rep. Parker Fairbairn (R-Harbor Springs) supported pursuing a resolution, emphasizing the importance of the Soo Locks and Straits of Mackinac to manufacturing, agriculture and energy supplies.

He said Great Lakes maritime commerce contributes approximately $3.3 billion to Michigan’s economy and supports about 17,000 jobs.

Subcommittee Chair William Bruck (R-Erie) said members would discuss a resolution or other steps to support additional icebreaking capacity.

“Certainly it’s a pressing issue here in Michigan,” Bruck said.