Mackinaw damages bow

The Coast Guard?s newest cutter, the Great Lakes icebreaker Mackinaw, ran into a seawall Monday, causing damage to its bow. The Mackinaw, operating in a special status because it has yet to be commissioned, was entering port in Grand Haven, Mich., when it veered to starboard and struck the wall and it appears that a 10-by-10-foot section of the bow was dented.

The Coast Guard gained possession of the Mackinaw on 19 November and is set to be commissioned in summer 2006. The Mackinaw is the Coast Guard?s most technologically advanced icebreaker and has an electronic bridge and an Azipod electronic propulsion system.