Breaking up is easy...if you have the right vessel
March 20, 2016 12:47 AM Subscribe
And it’s even easier with a bit of international cooperation: Time lapse video of USCGC Bristol Bay and CCGS Samuel Risley working together to break ice from Sarnia to Windsor, Ontario, in one day. Further inland, Amphibex icebreaking machines are used to break ice on the Red River in Manitoba to prevent flooding from ice jamming ahead of spring. That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to icebreaking...
Breaking ice on rivers is a start...
Red River icebreaker
Ride an Amphibex icebreaker
The Canadian Coast Guard uses hovercraft to break ice in other areas that larger icebreaking vessels can’t reach.
This is how they work:
In a low speed mode, the hovercraft causes an air cavity to form under the sheet as it rides onto it. This causes a section of the sheet to become unsupported and fail in bending under the action of its own weight. In a high speed mode, the motion of the craft over the sheet sets up large amplitude flexural gravity waves.
Two Canadian hovercraft, the CCGS Sipu Muin and CCGS Mamilossa, both based in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, perform extensive icebreaking duties:
Hovercraft takes aim at thick St. Lawrence ice
The Sipu Muin on the St-Francois river for an ice-breaking job
The Sipu Muin on the Restigouche River
Canada, of course, isn’t the only place with icy rivers...
Icebreaking on the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia
But the job gets bigger on the Great Lakes...
What Happens When a Ship This Size Gets Trapped in Ice?
Canadian Coast Guard reconnaisance footage of icebreaking from above on Lake Superior
CCGS Griffon on Lake Erie
And even bigger in coastal and Arctic waters…
Animation of ice in Canadian waters in the last 10 days
Current ice conditions from the Canadian Ice Service
Titans des mers : Brise glace géant (Titans of the sea: giant icebreaker), featuring the Canadian icebreaker CCGS Henry Larsen
The Henry Larsen in action
See and hear the Henry Larsen’s air bubbler system here
The planned CCGS John G Diefenbaker may join the Canadian icebreaker fleet by 2022.
Many countries use icebreakers...
Not any vessel can be an icebreaker, though. First you need an ice class designation.
U.S. Coast Guard 2013 Review of Major Icebreakers of the World
Wikipedia list of icebreakers
Discovery & Documentary - Icebreaker ships in action
So here are just a few of these icebreakers and their work, by country...
United States
The US has two polar class icebreakers, USCGC Polar Star and and USCGC Polar Sea. Only the Polar Star is currently operating. A third vessel, the USCGC Healy, is also polar capable.
Nation's only operating Polar icebreaker, CGC Healy, breaks ice for Nome bound tanker
Walking tour of USCGC Healy
USCG Mackinaw in March, 2002 icebreaking in the St. Marys River and Whitefish Bay
Aboard the USCG Bristol Bay
USCG Bristol Bay breaking ice.
This 1970s Coast Guard film entitled ICE (narrated by John Flynn) shows the icy gauntlet of the arctic, the Bering Sea, North Atlantic and Alaska.
History of the U.S. Coast Guard Icebreakers:
The world’s first polar icebreaker, the Yermak, was Russian.
Russia now operates seven nuclear icebreakers, including the world’s largest, the 50 let Pobedy ("50 Years of Victory")
Voyage to North Pole on Nuclear Icebreaker '50 Years of Victory'
RTE documentary on the 50 let Pobedy
The largest icebreaker in the world
The Baltika: watch Ice trials on 19 March - 10 April 2015
Seven Seas of Ice: Russia's icebreakers traverse top of the world
Finland
The Finnish icebreaker Otso cutting sealanes across the Gulf of Bothnia near the arctic circle.
The Sisu and Urho are sister ships.
The Urho in action
The Sisu in action
1974 documentary of the Sisu operating in the Baltic
Walk in front of an icebreaker ship (1920s)
Norway
KV Svalbard
Video of KV Svalbard ramming a sea ice pressure ridge (with appropriate music playing on the bridge)
Sweden
The Swedish icebreaker Oden was “built to clear a passage through the ice of the Gulf of Bothnia for cargo ships, it was later modified to serve as a research vessel.”
In 2006 the National Science Foundation hired the Swedish icebreaker Oden to create a channel through a 15-mile band of ice blockquoteing its Antarctic research base, McMurdo Station, from the sea.
The Ymer in action.
The work icebreakers and their crews do can point out consequences of climate change:
Melting Beats Coast Guard to Kennebec River Ice
The crew of the KV Svalbard made a disturbing discovery in the Arctic this year:
But back to international cooperation for a second. Meetups are easier when there’s an icebreaker or two to help everyone feel at ease...
USCGC Healy and Oden meet at the North Pole.
50 let Pobedy leaving Oden after working together for 14 days
Where are some of these icebreakers right now? You can find out...
This page provides the position and description of activities for the Canadian Coast Guard units assigned to Icebreaking Services
Marine traffic data for the vessels featured in this post:
CCGS Samuel Risley
CCGS Sipu Muin
CCGS Mamilossa
CCGS Griffon
CCGS Henry Larsen
USCG Mackinaw
USCG Bristol Bay
USCGC Polar Star
USCGC Healy
Baltika
50 let Pobedy
Otso
Urho
Sisu
KV Svalbard
Oden
Ymer
Previously: "Some days we traveled backwards to travel forwards."
Breaking ice on rivers is a start...
Red River icebreaker
Ride an Amphibex icebreaker
The Canadian Coast Guard uses hovercraft to break ice in other areas that larger icebreaking vessels can’t reach.
This is how they work:
In a low speed mode, the hovercraft causes an air cavity to form under the sheet as it rides onto it. This causes a section of the sheet to become unsupported and fail in bending under the action of its own weight. In a high speed mode, the motion of the craft over the sheet sets up large amplitude flexural gravity waves.
Two Canadian hovercraft, the CCGS Sipu Muin and CCGS Mamilossa, both based in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, perform extensive icebreaking duties:
Hovercraft takes aim at thick St. Lawrence ice
The Sipu Muin on the St-Francois river for an ice-breaking job
The Sipu Muin on the Restigouche River
Canada, of course, isn’t the only place with icy rivers...
Icebreaking on the Yellow River in Inner Mongolia
But the job gets bigger on the Great Lakes...
What Happens When a Ship This Size Gets Trapped in Ice?
Canadian Coast Guard reconnaisance footage of icebreaking from above on Lake Superior
CCGS Griffon on Lake Erie
And even bigger in coastal and Arctic waters…
Animation of ice in Canadian waters in the last 10 days
Current ice conditions from the Canadian Ice Service
Titans des mers : Brise glace géant (Titans of the sea: giant icebreaker), featuring the Canadian icebreaker CCGS Henry Larsen
The Henry Larsen in action
See and hear the Henry Larsen’s air bubbler system here
The planned CCGS John G Diefenbaker may join the Canadian icebreaker fleet by 2022.
Many countries use icebreakers...
Not any vessel can be an icebreaker, though. First you need an ice class designation.
U.S. Coast Guard 2013 Review of Major Icebreakers of the World
Wikipedia list of icebreakers
Discovery & Documentary - Icebreaker ships in action
So here are just a few of these icebreakers and their work, by country...
United States
The US has two polar class icebreakers, USCGC Polar Star and and USCGC Polar Sea. Only the Polar Star is currently operating. A third vessel, the USCGC Healy, is also polar capable.
Nation's only operating Polar icebreaker, CGC Healy, breaks ice for Nome bound tanker
Walking tour of USCGC Healy
USCG Mackinaw in March, 2002 icebreaking in the St. Marys River and Whitefish Bay
Aboard the USCG Bristol Bay
USCG Bristol Bay breaking ice.
This 1970s Coast Guard film entitled ICE (narrated by John Flynn) shows the icy gauntlet of the arctic, the Bering Sea, North Atlantic and Alaska.
History of the U.S. Coast Guard Icebreakers:
This is a documentary I made the is narrated by Captain Bruce Toney. It is meant to be an educational video on the history of the mission to Antarctica and the capabilities on our ships. Some of it is a bit goofy since I made it while underway and did not take it seriously enough to be a legitimate documentary. It does, however, provide a unique perspective of the boat from the crew perspective. All video and photos were taken by U.S. Coast Guard members.Russia
The world’s first polar icebreaker, the Yermak, was Russian.
Russia now operates seven nuclear icebreakers, including the world’s largest, the 50 let Pobedy ("50 Years of Victory")
Voyage to North Pole on Nuclear Icebreaker '50 Years of Victory'
RTE documentary on the 50 let Pobedy
The largest icebreaker in the world
The Baltika: watch Ice trials on 19 March - 10 April 2015
Seven Seas of Ice: Russia's icebreakers traverse top of the world
Finland
The Finnish icebreaker Otso cutting sealanes across the Gulf of Bothnia near the arctic circle.
The Sisu and Urho are sister ships.
The Urho in action
The Sisu in action
1974 documentary of the Sisu operating in the Baltic
Walk in front of an icebreaker ship (1920s)
Norway
KV Svalbard
Video of KV Svalbard ramming a sea ice pressure ridge (with appropriate music playing on the bridge)
Sweden
The Swedish icebreaker Oden was “built to clear a passage through the ice of the Gulf of Bothnia for cargo ships, it was later modified to serve as a research vessel.”
In 2006 the National Science Foundation hired the Swedish icebreaker Oden to create a channel through a 15-mile band of ice blockquoteing its Antarctic research base, McMurdo Station, from the sea.
The Ymer in action.
The work icebreakers and their crews do can point out consequences of climate change:
Melting Beats Coast Guard to Kennebec River Ice
The crew of the KV Svalbard made a disturbing discovery in the Arctic this year:
At this time of year, sea ice usually closes in around Svalbard’s northern and eastern coasts. But not this year. The sturdy 340-foot-long, 6,375-ton KV Svalbard had no ice to break, reports Oddvar Larsen, the ship’s First Engineer.NOAA animation of the Arctic's oldest ice each week since 1990
But back to international cooperation for a second. Meetups are easier when there’s an icebreaker or two to help everyone feel at ease...
USCGC Healy and Oden meet at the North Pole.
50 let Pobedy leaving Oden after working together for 14 days
Where are some of these icebreakers right now? You can find out...
This page provides the position and description of activities for the Canadian Coast Guard units assigned to Icebreaking Services
Marine traffic data for the vessels featured in this post:
CCGS Samuel Risley
CCGS Sipu Muin
CCGS Mamilossa
CCGS Griffon
CCGS Henry Larsen
USCG Mackinaw
USCG Bristol Bay
USCGC Polar Star
USCGC Healy
Baltika
50 let Pobedy
Otso
Urho
Sisu
KV Svalbard
Oden
Ymer
Previously: "Some days we traveled backwards to travel forwards."
I was just coming in to make a thread about that sebastien when I saw your comment.
Boaty McBoatface!
posted by taff at 3:38 AM on March 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
Boaty McBoatface!
posted by taff at 3:38 AM on March 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
What a wonderful FPP!
OK Send To Kindle, do your duty...
posted by sidereal at 3:44 AM on March 20, 2016
OK Send To Kindle, do your duty...
posted by sidereal at 3:44 AM on March 20, 2016
Holy shit this is awesome. I've been stuck working March Madness for days, now I finally have something to watch!
posted by nevercalm at 5:03 AM on March 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by nevercalm at 5:03 AM on March 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
Wow.
Also, if you were curious like I was: "Sipu Muin" means "bear river" in Mi'kmaq, and she has sister ships
posted by benito.strauss at 8:45 AM on March 20, 2016 [3 favorites]
Also, if you were curious like I was: "Sipu Muin" means "bear river" in Mi'kmaq, and she has sister ships
- CCGS Mamilossa — Abenaki for it walks from the shore onto the water fair winds".
- CCGS Moytel — "to help each other" in Halq’emélem
- CCGS Penac — "fair winds" in the Saanich
- CCGS Siyay — ???
posted by benito.strauss at 8:45 AM on March 20, 2016 [3 favorites]
Nice post!
My wife apparently loves ice breaking. She served two years on USCGC Healy and then transferred to the Mackinaw so she could continue breaking ice. Consequently, I've taken tours of both ships.
posted by A Bad Catholic at 8:58 AM on March 20, 2016 [6 favorites]
My wife apparently loves ice breaking. She served two years on USCGC Healy and then transferred to the Mackinaw so she could continue breaking ice. Consequently, I've taken tours of both ships.
posted by A Bad Catholic at 8:58 AM on March 20, 2016 [6 favorites]
Also, if you were curious like I was: "Sipu Muin" means "bear river" in Mi'kmaq, and she has sister ships
Yeah, I hadn't included the Siyay and Moytel since they seem to be primarily used for search and rescue. I could be quite wrong, though.
Found info about the name of the Siyay on this Coast Guard page...
Biographical Information: Salish word for “friend.”
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:15 AM on March 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I hadn't included the Siyay and Moytel since they seem to be primarily used for search and rescue. I could be quite wrong, though.
Found info about the name of the Siyay on this Coast Guard page...
Biographical Information: Salish word for “friend.”
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:15 AM on March 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
The best icebreaker I heard recently was "So I downloaded a new voice onto my GPS, Bonnie Tyler. It has some problems though. It keeps telling me to turn around, and every now and then it falls apart."
posted by hippybear at 10:37 AM on March 20, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 10:37 AM on March 20, 2016 [4 favorites]
My favourite Icebreaker is the Amundsen. Just because I've seen it docked with a sister ship in Quebec City.
Oh, and because this:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6AxMR2IRIZc
posted by Yowser at 11:29 AM on March 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh, and because this:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6AxMR2IRIZc
posted by Yowser at 11:29 AM on March 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh, and of course, the Amundsen is on $50 bills now. Derp!
posted by Yowser at 11:54 AM on March 20, 2016
posted by Yowser at 11:54 AM on March 20, 2016
On the Rideau River in Ottawa they use dynamite, which is always fun to watch.
posted by Flashman at 12:09 PM on March 20, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Flashman at 12:09 PM on March 20, 2016 [2 favorites]
I had no idea there was such a thing as ice breaking hovercraft. That is the coolest thing I will learn today, and probably all week.
posted by TedW at 3:23 PM on March 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by TedW at 3:23 PM on March 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
It's not an icebreaker, but if we're talking about human dinguses what stop ice jams don't forget the Niagara River ice boom. Which is a pontoony thing that goes across Lake Erie at the entrance of the Niagara River for to stop ice clogging up turbine intakes and otherwise causing icy problems.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:38 PM on March 20, 2016
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:38 PM on March 20, 2016
I could watch these videos all day. Great post, mandolin!
posted by endotoxin at 4:18 PM on March 20, 2016
posted by endotoxin at 4:18 PM on March 20, 2016
How about a giant yellow mechanical spider that sits in the river and crushes ice? It's the Amphibex!
posted by benito.strauss at 5:36 PM on March 20, 2016
posted by benito.strauss at 5:36 PM on March 20, 2016
I liked the use of dynamite, but I found myself wondering why not use artillery guns? Park a few of those babies further up the river on the ice, and start dropping rounds on the ice you wanna break. Probably not a good idea if you have varying crosswinds, though.
Maybe a few aircraft plopping JDAMS on the ice, too. I say we "amp it up" a little.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 5:36 PM on March 20, 2016
Maybe a few aircraft plopping JDAMS on the ice, too. I say we "amp it up" a little.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 5:36 PM on March 20, 2016
Holy cow! What a post.
Hovercrafts, who knew? Now this I'd like to see in action. Wheeee.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:16 PM on March 20, 2016
Hovercrafts, who knew? Now this I'd like to see in action. Wheeee.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:16 PM on March 20, 2016
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