A bipartisan bill co-led by U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City) has advanced through the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, a move meant to strengthen the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking fleet on the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes Icebreaker Act of 2025 now awaits a vote from the full House. If passed, it would require the Coast Guard to design and build a new heavy icebreaker, complete with a timeline and cost estimate, and implement a five-year pilot to evaluate the current fleet’s winter effectiveness.
McDonald Rivet, a committee member, said harsh winter conditions across the region can halt Great Lakes shipping, risking jobs and disrupting the economy.
“This bill ensures we have the icebreaking ships we need to protect jobs and keep lanes of commerce open, no matter what Midwest winters have to throw at us,” she said in a statement.
Currently, the only heavy icebreaker on the lakes is the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw. Shipping industry leaders say a single vessel isn’t enough, especially when breakdowns stall operations.
Eric Peace is vice president of the Lake Carriers’ Association, which represents U.S.-flagged commercial vessels operating on the Great Lakes. He said the Coast Guard’s current icebreaking fleet is failing to meet industry needs.
“The reason it’s dismal, number one, is because the Mackinaw has had operational problems, hasn’t been able to get underway,” he said. “She’s the heavy icebreaker. So, we haven’t been able to have that icebreaker available to us a lot.”
Peace warns that ice-related delays can strand vessels for days and cost the industry hundreds of millions annually. A 2023 analysis from the association estimated over $2 billion in commercial losses and more than 10,000 impacted jobs over the past decade due to inadequate icebreaking.
While the Coast Guard also operates six smaller 140-foot icebreaking tugs in the region, those vessels are more than 40 years old and often face mechanical failures, Peace said. That leaves limited resources to keep shipping lanes open when heavy ice forms across multiple locations.
In recent years, winter ice has impacted navigation through Whitefish Bay, Green Bay, the St. Clair and Detroit rivers, and eastern Lake Erie near Buffalo. Peace said one vessel was stuck near Buffalo for three days.
The legislation also aims to increase transparency and performance reporting. Peace said past Coast Guard assessments only considered icebreaking performance in a handful of narrow corridors.
“You could be stuck in the middle of the lake, and it wouldn't count against their metrics,” he said. “So, this five-year pilot program will make that transparency a little bit better and show that they either are succeeding or are not.”
The bill was introduced with bipartisan support, including co-sponsors Rep. Tony Wied of Wisconsin and Rep. Max Miller of Ohio. All three lawmakers are members of the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force, which advocates for economic and environmental issues in the region.
The Coast Guard has already received $60 million in prior federal funding to begin planning and program development for a new icebreaker. But Peace said actual construction funds are still needed.
“We really missed a big opportunity to get this thing funded in the reconciliation bill,” he said. “Now we need actual construction funds, so we need money to get in the budget for the Coast Guard with construction funding to actually build it.”
For now, supporters of the bill say they're focused on getting it across the finish line in the House. If approved, the measure would move to the Senate.
“Get the thing built, get it built now as fast as you can, because we’re running into extremis,” Peace said.
