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
- ↑ Dan Miner. POWER AUTHORITY: Storm puts NYPA on ice, Niagara Gazette, 2008-02-14. Retrieved on 2009-02-17. “Enter the William H. Latham, the 62-foot long, 625-horsepower ice breaker boat commissioned in 1987 by the New York Power Authority for exactly this kind of situation. The Latham, along with the smaller, similar boat run by the Ontario Power Authority, is one of the tools used by the power authority to break up the ice and send it down the river.” mirror
- ↑ Niagara Power Project. New York Power Authority. Retrieved on 2009-02-11. mirror
- ↑ Michael Saltzman. Power Authority Appoints Regional Manager for Western New York, Niagara Project, New York Power Authority, 2002-12-15. Retrieved on 2009-02-11. mirror
- ↑ 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