North Atlantic shipping lanes plagued by hundreds of icebergs

Experts have attributed the surge in icebergs to unusually strong counter-clockwise winds that are drawing the icebergs south, and possibly from global warming, the Associated Press said.    North Atlantic shipping lanes have been inundated with more than 400 icebergs over the past week, forcing ships to slow to a crawl and take detours, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
   “As of 04 April 2017, 455 icebergs have drifted or been sighted south of 48°N in the transatlantic shipping lanes. On average, 83 icebergs drift south of this latitude by the end of March, based on data collected between 1900 and 2016,” according to the weekly iceberg outlook released Wednesday by the U.S. Coast Guard’s International Ice Patrol (IIP).
   Experts are attributing the surge in icebergs to unusually strong counter-clockwise winds that are drawing the icebergs south, and possibly from global warming, the AP said.
   The icebergs are causing ships to take precautions in waters close to where the Titanic sank in 1912. Instead of cutting straight across the ocean, transatlantic ships are taking detours, which can add hundreds of miles to the trip.
   Close to the Newfoundland coast, cargo ships owned by short-sea vessel operator Oceanex are slowing down to just 3-4 knots as they sail back to their home port in St. Johns. Oceanex Executive Chairman Captain Sid Hynes said this can add up to a day to the trip, the AP reported. After hitting a chunk of ice, one ship was pulled out of service for repairs, Hynes said.
   “It makes everything more expensive,” he said. “You’re burning more fuel, it’s taking a longer time, and it’s hard on the equipment.”