Even in a modern society, goods are frequently shipped via boat. In the recent weeks, the below average temperatures have created a brilliant sheet of ice on the Hudson river, but that ice poses a huge threat to shipping vessels carrying essential winter supplies such as heating oil and road salt. To help ensure these ships can get through to where they need to go, the U.S. Coast Guard makes frequent passes up the river to break the ice.
At least once a day lately, the Sturgeon Bay has been crunching and crashing up and down the Hudson, clearing paths through the crystallized expanse so that boats carrying supplies can reach the communities counting on them. Barges on the Hudson transport 70 percent of the home heating oil in the Northeast. In 2014, barges brought 20 million barrels of it northward, as well as 100,000 tons of dry goods, like salt and cement.
Read the full accompanying article for more information about the Coast Guard and it's ice breakers on the Hudson.
Matt Coneybeare
Editor in Chief
Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.
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