Breaking the Ice - The Great Lakes Winter Fleet

Nearly all of the iron ore, as well as much of the limestone, needed for the steel industries were shipped over the Great Lakes from the iron ore fields in Minnesota to the ports at Chicago, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Buffalo in the US, and Hamilton, Ontario in Canada. From those ports, the iron ore was shipped by rail to the steel mill complexes in Gary, Detroit, Cleveland, Youngstown, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Hamilton. The Massive Ore Carriers that plied the waters of the Great Lakes sailed from Mid-April to late November when weather and water conditions permitted.However, it soon became apparent that the amount of iron ore laid up in late November 1941 for use during the winter and spring was totally inadequate for the war effort.In a bold decision, it was decided to mobilize at least part of the Great Lakes ore carrier fleet to allow it to begin loading and delivering the badly needed iron and limestone ores a month ahead of the regular start of the sailing season. Besides the severe challenges of the late winter weather, finding officers, crew, and dock workers to work at the loading and unloading ports would be difficult. The risks and costs were high.