A bounty of bergs: Ice patrol counts 670 in shipping lanes

Transatlantic shipping off the coast of Newfoundlandhasn't been the same since that vicious wind storm that struck in mid-March.

Before the storm broughtthree days ofhurricane-force winds to some parts of the island, there were hardly any icebergs to speak of but that quickly changed.

"In a one-week period we went from 37 icebergs in the shipping lanes to 455," said Cmdr. Gabrielle McGrath of the U.S. Coast Guard's International Ice Patrol.

"Itwas very surprising."

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Surprising because 30 days ago, the ice patrol was predicting a light seasonfor bergs.

"And then we did a flight on March 29following that storm system, and we saw hundreds of icebergs in the same region where we had just seena handful,"McGrathsaid.

"It was a big change over a short period of time."

In almost a decade of flying with the patrol off Newfoundland and Labrador, McGrath said she's never seen such a surge.

Global shipping affected

The International Ice Patrol was established after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, its primary purpose being to alertshipping companies operating between Europe,the U.S. and Canada of the presence of any icebergs.

Warnings are issued as to where the bergs are and how far south the patrol predicts the ice will drift along the Labrador current something that's come up a lot in the last 30 days.

"The ships have to divert their track. They have to go 400 to 500 miles out of their wayto go around the iceberg limit," McGrath said.

She estimated Wednesday that there are about300 icebergs north of the oil production systems and rigs drilling offshore,but said aweather pattern has been pushingthem to the west.

"And hopefully they'll continueto move west and stay out of the dangerous areaaround the rigs," said McGrath.

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At the end of April, the ice patrol has counted 670 icebergs in the shipping lanes, nearly as many as the 687 reported for all of last year.

The commander is reluctant to predict what's next for the remainder of the icebergseason, which normally extends into July.

"With what happened over the last month, I'm kind of cautious to give a prediction because it could change pretty quickly."