Shipment Of 21,000 Tons Of Salt To Philly Stuck In Delaware River Due To Ice

February 05, 2026, 09:27 AM

I think this winter may end up breaking all sorts of records here, I don't remember it being THIS cold for THIS long. You know it's been brutally cold when you hit a 30 degree day for a few hours and it feels "warm" out.

quote:

Shipment of 21,000 tons of salt to Philly stuck in Delaware River due to ice

By Johnny Archer and NBC10 Staff • Published February 4, 2026 • Updated on February 4, 2026 at 11:29 pm

The Coast Guard told NBC10 that there are several ships stuck in the Delaware River due to ice and they are actively trying to break up the ice to free them.

Two barges delivering a total 21,000 tons of salt to the City of Philadelphia is stuck in the Delaware River due to ice, the Office of Emergency Management Director Dominick Mireles confirmed to NBC10.

The ships were supposed to drop off the supplies in Fairless Hills, but it is surrounded by ice.

NBC10 was at the port area on Wednesday, Feb. 4 to find large chunks of ice in the water.

SkyForce10 was also over the Delaware River near Bucks County on Wednesday night to find large chunks of ice in the water.

Philadelphia currently has 15,000 tons of salt on hand, Mireles said.

City officials said they order a new shipment of salt after every winter storm.

"We have about 15,000 tons in reserve right now," said Carlton Williams, of the Philadelphia Office of Clean and Green Initiative. "So we are looking to refill. So that’s why this barge issue is so important. That’s why we are monitoring it as well as our vendor."

One of the barges carrying 15,000 tons of salt was rerouted to Paulsboro, New Jersey, where it will be unloaded before it gets trucked to Philadelphia on Thursday, a spokesperson for the mayor's office said.

A second barge that has about 6,000 tons of salt for the city is trying to move northbound along the river, officials said.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, there are several ships stuck in the Delaware River due to the waterway freezing over.

Coast Guard crews are currently using ice breakers to try to break up the ice and free the ships that are stuck.

Link

February 05, 2026, 09:29 AM

apf383

Ahhh, the irony...

February 05, 2026, 09:38 AM

Graniteguy

Can't they just "melt" their way through?

February 05, 2026, 10:11 AM

konata88

Why do they order just in time? Why not order in the fall ahead of winter? No place to store it for a few months?

February 05, 2026, 10:50 AM

PASig

quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
Why do they order just in time? Why not order in the fall ahead of winter? No place to store it for a few months?

C'mon. This is Philly. Run by idiot Democrats who couldn't manage a bake sale.

In a NORMAL city, yes they would think ahead like that.

And I'm sure they are paying double or triple what it would have cost to stock up in the summer or fall with this alleged salt shortage and everyone and their brother looking for the stuff in the Northeast.

February 05, 2026, 02:04 PM

HRK

quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
Why do they order just in time? Why not order in the fall ahead of winter? No place to store it for a few months?

They said they reorder after every storm, it's the replacement for the salt they just used says they still have 15,000 on hand in reserve.

February 05, 2026, 02:15 PM

trapper189

I’m curious about the path used to get the salt there. I believe Compass Minerals is the supplier and their mine is in Louisiana. Ohio and New York have probably the largest salt mines in the country, but the waterways are closed for the winter.

February 05, 2026, 02:38 PM

9mmepiphany

quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
Why do they order just in time? Why not order in the fall ahead of winter? No place to store it for a few months?

The do order ahead.

This is to replace what has been already used so far.

February 05, 2026, 04:07 PM

ptruck

Start off loading and melt some of the ice

February 05, 2026, 09:24 PM

6guns

I'm not disputing this, but that looks like a tank barge to me. I wish the photo was a little clearer.

February 05, 2026, 10:27 PM

Gustofer

quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
Why do they order just in time? Why not order in the fall ahead of winter? No place to store it for a few months?

Same, but a bit different...

Back in the 80s, I was driving between Indianapolis and Muncie (I attended Ball State for a semester and was going home from a Guard weekend). There was some snow/slush on I69, but it was no big deal...I assumed. I got pulled over for "driving too fast for conditions" and was issued a citation. Rather than pay it, I went to court to protest the ticket thinking that I was perfectly of capable of navigating roads with snow on them, so how could that be unsafe or illegal.

I learned that day that Indiana didn't own any snowplows and that they had to rent/lease them if and when they got enough snow to plow. Hence, the roads were always iffy during the winter.

That seemed really odd to me that a state in the northern tier didn't have a fleet of plows to deploy when needed and had to depend on the "maybe they'll be available when you need them".

And, yes, I ended up having to pay for the ticket.

February 05, 2026, 10:42 PM

corsair

Perhaps, this is a small hope, this can get legislators to start taking seriously the lack of ice breakers in the Coast Guard. While the big Polar Security cutters get the headlines, its also the smaller, harbor ice breakers (Great Lakes & North East) that are doing a lot of the heavy lifting...and in dire need to modern replacement.

February 06, 2026, 12:01 AM

Rightwire

quote:
Originally posted by apf383:
Ahhh, the irony...

Thick as ice...

February 06, 2026, 01:26 AM

Prefontaine

quote:
Originally posted by PASig:
C'mon. This is Philly. Run by idiot Democrats who couldn't manage a bake sale.

February 06, 2026, 01:38 AM

downtownv

quote:
Originally posted by PASig:
quote:
Originally posted by konata88:
Why do they order just in time? Why not order in the fall ahead of winter? No place to store it for a few months?

C'mon. This is Philly. Run by idiot Democrats who couldn't manage a bake sale.

In a NORMAL city, yes they would think ahead like that.

And I'm sure they are paying double or triple what it would have cost to stock up in the summer or fall with this alleged salt shortage and everyone and their brother looking for the stuff in the Northeast.

I couldn't agree more!