William H. Latham (icebreaker)
The William H. Latham is a 77 ton icebreaker owned and operated by the New York Power Authority on the Niagara River.[1][2] Her mission is to keep the Power Authority's inlet ports clear of ice. She was built in 1987. She is powered by a 625 horsepower engine. She is staffed by a crew of three. During emergencies two crews have worked twelve-hour shifts to keep the vessel at work twenty-four hours a day.
The vessel's design and construction was overseen by Randy D. Crissman.[3] She is named after William H. Latham a senior engineer with the Power Authority who died earlier that year.[4]
Ontario Hydro operates a similiar vessel, the Niagara Queen, to clear the inlet ports for hydroelectric power generators on the Canadian side.[5] The Latham is assisted by a second vessel, a modified tugboat, known only as Breaker.
References
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedNiagaraGazette - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedNYPALatham - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedNYPACrissman - ↑ William Latham, 83; Guided Niagara Project, New York Times, 1987-01-19. Retrieved on 2009-02-17. mirror
- ↑ D. McMillan. Design, construction, and operation of Niagara River icebreakers, Marine Technology, 1995, pp. 101-108. Retrieved on 2009-02-17. mirror