Coast Guard 140-foot icebreaker Penobscot Bay returned to base on Tuesday after spending the past two weeks and, before that, much of the winter, upriver. With the 2026 ice season now finally coming to a close, both the Penobscot and Sturgeon Bay cutters are back at Bayonne, along with the 65-footer Hawser.

The winter of 2026 has been by all accounts the worst for icing on the river in at least ten years and for much of February both the Penobscot Bay and Sturgeon Bay were working upriver along with the third Bay class cutter based in the northeast, the Thunder Bay, which came down from Maine to assist in keeping the vital marine highway channel open for navigation, while the smaller Hawser kept the piers and creeks of New York Harbor accessible, along with a number of local privately owned tugs.

The Qualified Captain podcast has a great half-hour interview running this week with the XO and a crew member of Sturgeon Bay which is worth a listen.