Duluth icebreaker prepares for shipping

The U.S. Coast Guard's 240-foot-long ship Mackinaw is busy breaking ice in the Twin Ports in preparation for the upcoming shipping season.

The huge ship is the largest U.S. icebreaker on the Great Lakes. Cmdr. Mike Davanzo says 10 officers and 46 enlisted members serve on the Mackinaw.

The Duluth News Tribune says most of the ice the Mackinaw ran into in the Twin Ports this past weekend was about 20 inches thick. The $80 million ship can easily move through 32-inch ice at a steady pace and ram its way through ice ridges of up to 10 feet thick.

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Information from: Duluth News Tribune