March 2, 2015 — Waterways around the Northeast are beset by ice that is more than a foot thick in some places, making life miserable for those who make their living on the water.
Scott Werner of Portland said this winter has been "a horror show" for lobster fishermen like himself. The ice has prevented him from getting his boat out to fish in recent weeks, and cut into his ability to make money in the already slow winter lobstering season, he said.
"I'm not going to risk it. I don't want to break anything," Werner said. "It's been brutal, but what are you going to do?"
Iced waterways are a problem in other Northeast locations, such as off of Boston, where a commuter ferry carrying more than 100 passengers got delayed by about 45 minutes when it was slowed down by the coastal ice pack on Feb. 20. And in New York, where the Coast Guard is cutting ice on the Hudson River so barges carrying heating oil, gasoline and jet fuel can reach destinations. The thickest part is in the area of Germantown and Hudson, north of New York City. In some spots the ice is a foot-and-a-half thick, Coast Guard officials said.
"The barges traveling from New York City to Albany have the most difficult time transiting through that one area, so that's where the Coast Guard is devoting its effort to keep clean," Coast Guard Lt. Ken Sauerbrunn said.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at ABC News