The ice-breaking tug, Breaker II has been delivered to the New York Power Authority (NYPA). The second of two tugs, the design and construction process was overseen by Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI). The vessel is an ice-strengthened, twin-screw towing vessel, inspected and certificated to the standards of U.S. Coast Guard Subchapter M. Its primary purpose is to install, retrieve, and maintain the Lake Erie – Niagara River Ice Boom, deployed in the winter at the mouth of the Niagara River. The Ice Boom is intended to minimize the amount of ice entering the upper Niagara in order to decrease ice blockages downstream that could damage shore structures, flood low lying areas, or obstruct flow into the intakes of NYPA’s U.S. or Ontario Power’s Canadian hydroelectric plant intakes.
