Congress has approved construction of another heavy Great Lakes icebreaker in a semi-annual bill that authorizes U.S. Coast Guard funding for the next two years.
The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015, passed by voice vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday, Feb. 1, approves a bill the Senate passed in December.
It now moves to President Barack Obama's desk for a signature.
The bill green-lights something Great Lakes shipping have been clamoring for in earnest for several years -- another heavy icebreaker comparable to the USCG Mackinaw to clear shipping lanes and harbors during the winter.
Whether or not the Great Lakes would get another heavy icebreaker was not certain, as the region was competing with Arctic waters for another ship. But the bill approves design steps for new icebreakers in both the Great Lakes and polar regions amid $1.9 billion for new facilities, vessels and aircraft.
"This bipartisan bill authorizes the Coast Guard for two years and strengthens its ability to recapitalize an aging fleet of cutters and aircraft that are decades past their prime," said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-California.
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, called the new Great Lakes cutter a "much-needed addition." Peters pushed for the ship in 2015, saying wear on the existing fleet had reduced its ability to clear shipping lanes; particularly during the previous two winters, when ice cover reached historic levels on the lakes.
The heavy cutter Mackinaw suffered propulsion damage in early 2015 that significantly reduced its capabilities for a time. A Canadian heavy cutter from Montreal was dispatched to Lake Superior last April to aid more than a dozen ships trapped by ice in Whitefish Bay.
A month prior, a team of breakers weren't able to get the freighter Arthur Anderson into port in Lake Erie, causing the ship to turn around within sight of its destination and head home with empty cargo holds.
Congress would still need to approve funding for the estimated $240 million ship through either a budget bill rider or the regular appropriations process.
The Coast Guard operates 9 icebreakers in the Great Lakes, the largest being the Mackinaw, launched in 2005 as a replacement for the original cutter Mackinaw, which is now a museum ship docked permanently in Mackinaw City.
The new Mackinaw was built at the Marinette Marine Shipyard in Marinette, Wis., the same yard that's building the U.S. Navy's new class of Littoral Combat Ships.
The authorization bill also includes a Peters-added provision requiring federal agencies assess freshwater oil spill response under heavy ice cover. The Coast Guard has said it's not fully prepared for an oil spill under ice, which is a chief concern among opponents to the Enbridge Inc. pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac.
Garret Ellison covers business, environment & the Great Lakes for MLive Media Group. Email him at gellison@mlive.com or follow on Twitter & Instagram