A Coast Guard crew responded to a fishing vessel trapped in ice in Woods Hole Passage, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, Saturday.
At about 3 p.m., the crew of the fishing boat Capt. RM Chase notified watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England that they became lodged in ice while returning to New Bedford, Massachusetts after a fishing trip.
A Coast Guard aids-to-navigation team aboard a 49-foot Stern Loading Buoy Boat from Woods Hole was breaking ice nearby and diverted to assist the four-person crew.
They arrived on scene, and at about 3:30 p.m., the Coast Guard crew freed the the Capt. RM Chase from the ice.
“Even with today’s higher temperature, ice still impacts southeastern New England waterways, making even routine transits hazardous,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Bethany Mock, an operations specialist at the Sector Southeastern New England command center.
She said due to the extreme weather, this is the second case in two days that Aids to Navigation Team Woods Hole rescued a fishing crew from the ice.
The Coast Guard's domestic icebreaking operations facilitate navigation within reasonable demands of commerce and minimize waterways closures during the winter, while enabling commercial vessels to transit through ice-covered critical channels.