County Funds Help Keep Harbors Clear Of Ice

HARWICH – The harsh winter weather and sustained freezing temperatures are wreaking havoc in local harbors, restricting commercial fishing activities, impeding emergency access and damaging municipal and private docks.

 Harbormaster John Harker said he has been running 48 de-icing pumps in Saquatucket Harbor for more than a month to protect dock and slip infrastructure from expensive ice damage. The commercial fishing fleet has been frozen in for several weeks and harbormasters across the Cape are unable to get emergency vessels out of harbors to provide assistance, according to Harker. But Barnstable County is stepping in to help.

 The harbormasters have joined together seeking state and county assistance in addressing the icy conditions that have frozen the commercial fishing economy, caused safety concerns, and potentially costly expenses to harbor infrastructure, said Harker.

The harbormasters met with the Cape Cod Fishermen’s Alliance to get a clear picture of what needed to be done to get the fishing fleet moving again, according to Harker. He said the ice has pinned in about 20 commercial vessels on the east side of Saquatucket Harbor, and vessels are pinned in by ice in several other Cape harbors.

The Barnstable County dredge is immobilized in Sesuit Harbor in Dennis, preventing it from operating this time of the year. Delays in dredging will have adverse impacts on the number of projects that can be completed before state fish spawning closures take effect. 

The harbormasters have reached out to Cape and Islands Senator Julian Cyr, and State Representatives Hadley Luddy and Kip A. Diggs in hopes of receiving financial assistance from the state to hire a private tugboat company to clear the harbors. The legislators were unable to secure funding, but they continue working on waivers from the time-of-year closures, Harker said.

Mariners were pleased to learn that Barnstable County has stepped forward with funds to hire the private tug service. On Feb. 11, county commissioners approved an ordinance for the use of $50,000 for clearing ice. The Assembly of Delegates, in an emergency meeting the following day, also approved the ordinance. Discussions on reimbursement continue on the state level. 

Iced-in harbors occur infrequently, Barnstable County Dredge Director Ken Cirillo told the county commissioners, but the impacts on commercial fishing, aquaculture, harbor infrastructure and emergency access can be significant. 

The Coast Guard has also stepped in to provide assistance, said Harker. There are two Coast Guard ice-breaking vessels in the area; the larger one has been focusing on the ferry routes along Nantucket Sound, while the smaller one was in Saquatucket Harbor last Thursday and in Wychmere Harbor on Friday and Saturday.

Harker said the Coast Guard ice breaker encountered ice six inches thick and had some trouble moving the ice on the east side of the harbor where the commercial vessels are docked. He said the Andrews River on the east side of the harbor and Cold Brook on the west side release freshwater into the harbor. The water temperature in the harbor is 28 degrees.

One of the transient docks on the east side of the harbor was destroyed by ice, he said.

Harker said he and his staff have been moving the de-icing pumps around for the past six weeks to protect the more than 200 slips and docks in the harbor. Without them, Harker said the ice damage to the infrastructure would be significant and expensive.

 “We’ve been proactive and staying on top of it,” he said. “The cost trade of running the pumps versus repair of the docks is a good trade.”

The tugboat is expected to work the north side of the Cape and the Coast Guard vessel is expected to work on the south side. The towns with harbors listed as priorities are Chatham, Harwich, Dennis, Barnstable, Mashpee and Wellfleet. The tug was in Wellfleet Harbor on Saturday.