River Raisin News

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) reported that Coast Guard Cutter Neah Bay broke ice Friday afternoon in the Port of Lorain, Ohio, in an attempt to prevent ice jams from forming and causing flooding of the surrounding areas. The cutter responded to a request from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the lead federal agency for flood mitigation and response, who determined that the area would benefit from ice-breaking operations. The cutter, Neah Bay, a 140-foot ice-breaking tug homeported in Cleveland, arrived in Lorain Friday morning after transiting from Monroe, Mich., where the crew battled ice in the River Raisin to relieve flooding there.

The 2013 shipping season was a record-setter for the Port of Monroe (located on Lake Erie and bisected by the River Raisin, the Port of Monroe is Michigan’s only port on the Lake). Nearly 2.2 million metric tons of cargo was handled by the port, marking what is seen as the beginning of a period of revival. Port Director, Paul C.LaMarre said: "In 2013, we had 97 vessel calls: 81 to DTE Energy's Monroe Power Plant carrying bulk, three carrying project cargo (two of which were Seaway tonnage), and 13 liquid asphalt cargoes to Michigan Paving & Materials.