SAULT STE MARIE, MI – The U.S. Coast Guard’s largest domestic icebreaking operation is underway in Lake Superior.

The Coast Guard sector based in Sault Ste Marie has started its winter icebreaking efforts - known as Operation Taconite - because of an increasing amount of ice in the commercial ports located on the west side of Lake Superior. Areas along here, like Duluth, Minnesota, had blizzard warnings in the last few days.

The Coast Guard Cutter SPAR has been assigned to handle icebreaking near the ports of Duluth and nearby Superior, Wisconsin. As ice coverage expands, the Coast Guard will add more cutter crews to work the area.

The operation includes Lake Superior, the St. Marys River, the Straits of Mackinac, Georgian Bay, and all of Lake Michigan.

Now that the Operation Taconite is underway, Great Lakes vessels will also see winter safety measures. This includes restricting tanker transits to daylight in the presence of ice and reducing speeds by 2 mph in certain locations.