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Post by ferryfast admin on Jan 30, 2012 17:51:13 GMT -5
Formerly stuck ferry now freed from ice near Mackinac Island
January 27, 2012
Morgan Sherburne (231) 439-9394 - msherburne@petoskeynews.com articles.petoskeynews.com/2012-01-27/arnold-transit_30672393
A ferry owned by Arnold Transit Co. became stuck in the ice Friday afternoon after it left St. Ignace.
The four p.m. departure of the ferry, called the Huron, was carrying a load of passengers to Mackinac Island when it became stuck in the ice near the island, said Mark Dobson, duty officer for Operation Taconite, the ice breaking operation of the United States Coast Guard that oversees all icebreaking duties north of Saginaw Bay.
“(The Huron) just got hung up. The wind has been blowing from the west and packed (the ice) into a narrow pass by the entrance to the Mackinac Island harbor,” he said. “Ferries are not really designed for ice. It doesn’t take much for them to get stuck.”
The ferry called for help at approximately 4:40 p.m., said Dobson, at which point thenCoast Guard cutter Biscayne Bay headed out to help the Huron.
“Usually, all ice breakers have to do is make a close approach nearby, which breaks the ice apart and alleviates pressure from the ice to allow the ferry to move again,” said Dobson.”
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