By Dominik Lobkowicz
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tackle breaks ice around fishing vessels in Bremen Feb. 24. (D. Lobkowicz photo)
A few fishing vessels in Bremen got a helping hand from the U.S. Coast Guard when the Rockland-based cutter Tackle came to town on an ice-breaking mission Feb. 24.
The 65-foot small harbor tug was breaking ice near the Bremen Lobster Pound Co-Op in the early afternoon after requests for ice-breaking in that area, according to
Lt. David Bourbeau, chief of the Waterways Management Division for Coast Guard Sector Northern New England.
The Tackle was headed to Friendship on Feb. 24 to break out the fishing fleet there when the requests for assistance in Bremen came in, according to Bourbeau.
Breaking loose a wide swath of ice, the Tackle appeared to free five vessels near the co-op before heading south and apparently away from Bremen.
According to Bourbeau, there are limits on when and where ice-breaking efforts by ships like the Tackle can be performed.
The draft of the Tackle and similar 65-foot tugs is such that they usually don’t operate in less than 12 feet of water without additional look-outs, Bourbeau
said.
Ice breaking also needs to take place during an ebbing tide, so the ice flows away from the harbor, he said.
The officer in charge of the Tackle likely took those factors, as well as other conditions such as the tightness of the area and the ice coverage into
consideration during the mission, Bourbeau said.
“I just wish we could have done more for the community down there,” said Bourbeau.
During the winter months, Sector Northern New England’s three 65-foot tugs – Shackle, based in South Portland, and Bridle, based in Southwest Harbor,
along with Tackle – are primarily tasked with ice breaking, Bourbeau said. They also do work on fixed navigational aids, he said.
The Coast Guard carries out ice-breaking missions under Operation RENEW, or Reliable Energy for Northeast Winters.
Under OpRENEW, the Coast Guard prioritizes its ice breaking to ensure ports or vessels related to providing petroleum, other energy products, emergency services, or
other necessary supplies are able to operate, according to Bourbeau.
With that in mind, Coast Guard stations or ferries providing the above products and services to island communities, for example, take priority over breaking out
fishing fleets, Bourbeau said.
The fishing fleets stay on the list until the higher priority needs are addressed, he said.
The U.S. Coast Guard has 11 65-foot small harbor tugs like the Tackle currently in service, all on the East Coast from Maine to Virginia, according to
www.uscg.mil. All were built between 1962 and 1967.
