Soo Locks shipping season opens with passage of Edgar B. Speer
Sault Ste Marie, MI – The Soo Locks opened for the new shipping season at 12:01 a.m. Friday with the upbound passage of Great Lakes Fleet’s 1,004-foot long Edgar B. Speer. Fleetmate Edwin H. Gott followed her up.
The two arrived at the locks on Wednesday but had to wait at the locks for the official opening time, which is set by Congress.
Around 75 warm;y-dressed people showed up at the viewing platform late Thursday evening into Friday morning to witness the passage.
A party of local dignitaries headed out to the vessel Thursday afternoon to present Capt. Abe Grogan, Chief Engineer Isaiah Majetich and crew with plaques, hats and other gifts. Greeting the first ship is a long-standing tradition in Sault Ste. Marie highlighting the importance of shipping and the locks to the community. Representatives of the City of Sault Ste. Marie, including Mayor Don Gerrie and board members of the Soo Locks Visitor Center Association, presented plaques to Capt. Grogan. Roger LeLievre, publisher of the book Know Your Ships, brought copies of the 2022 edition for the crew.
As the group enjoyed a tour of the vessel, the CCGS icebreaker Griffon could be seen breaking ice in the upper locks approaches.
Both vessels are bound for Two Harbors, MN, to load taconite. After the Speer and Gott, the next vessels upbound were Dirk S. VanEnkevort/barge Michigan Trader and Arthur M. Anderson. No downbound vessels were enroute to the locks.
The Soo Locks have been closed since mid-January for the annual winter maintenance window. During this time, a big list of projects was tackled, largely on the Poe Lock, the Army Corps said. This included:
Hydraulic steel structure inspections
Miter gate bottom girder structural repair and seal replacement
Miter gate pintle concrete repairs
Valve machinery repairs
Dewatering system maintenance
“Crews also performed a wide range of other maintenance tasks including fender timber replacements on the piers, electrical and mechanical systems inspections and preventative maintenance on both Poe and MacArthur Locks and floating plant maintenance,” Maintenance Branch Chief LeighAnn Ryckeghem said.
“We worked hard to accelerate work up-front during our annual closure, with crews working against a very tight schedule to make repairs in a very short time,” Area Engineer Kevin Sprague said. “Due to the hard work of our maintenance crews during heavy snowfall and cold temperatures, we were able to accomplish all required work on schedule.”
The Soo’s smaller lock, the MacArthur, is not expected to open until late April. This means all the vessel traffic for now will be going through the Poe.
Top hat ceremonies launch St. Lawrence Seaway’s 64th navigation season
St. Catharines, ON – Grain is key to St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp.’s success in 2022, says its president and chief executive officer. “We’re coming off 38.2 million tonnes of cargo moved last year,” Terrence Bowles. “That’s a pretty good number for the seaway. We’re starting to recover from the pandemic. If you look at all of our cargo other than wheat, we were up 13 per cent.”
Last year’s tonnage was up one percent overall compared to cargo moved through the 3,700-kilometre-long Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system in 2021. “I’m optimistic we’re going to have a good year,” said Bowles during the annual top hat ceremony at Lock 3 in St. Catharines Thursday.
The ceremony kicked off the 64th navigation season for the seaway and the opening of the 43-kilometre, eight-lock Welland Canal.
In St. Catharines, Canada Steamship Lines CSL Welland was the first upbound vessel — from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie — and it displayed a mural painted on its accommodation block for the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games featuring four runners.
At the top hat ceremony in Port Colborne, Mayor Bill Steele welcomed CSL Tadoussac as the first downbound vessel at Lock 8 Gateway Park.
Both ceremonies were a return to in-person events and well-attended by residents of the respective municipalities.
In St. Catharines, Capt. Peter Lynch accepted the top hat on behalf of CSL Welland’s Master Capt. Jamie Thorne and chief engineer Nicolas Lavoie. In Port Colborne, Capt. Wilson Walter accepted a replica top hat on behalf of CSL Tadoussac’s Capt. Jesse Vickers and chief engineer Iqbal Moosa Nakhooda.
Bowles said the key to increased tonnage carried this year by vessels such as the CSL ships, is a strong return of Western grain crops. “There’s not much grain to be shipped right now. We’re waiting for the new crops. That should start around July and August.”
He said heat and drought last year led to poor crops, which had been strong the past five to six years. Bowles said with the gross domestic product expected to increase at least four per cent it could be a strong year for the seaway.
One unknown that could change how cargoes are sent across the world is the invasion of Ukraine, and sanctions imposed on Russia. Bowles said the two nations account for more than 20 per cent of grain exports, and Russia is a source of fertilizer.
“We think Canada could help fill that gap,” said Bowles, adding he’d rather see a quick end to the “sad events” than profit off the war. Western grain, and fertilizer from Saskatchewan, could be shipped through the seaway, he said.
At St. Catharines’ ceremony, Mayor Walter Sendzik thanked the seaway for its investments in the waterway in the city. “We value the seaway and what it contributes to the community. Shipping and the marine industry is in our history, it’s part of our DNA,” said Sendzik.
He spoke about the mural on CSL Welland and the company’s partnership with the Canada Games.
It was announced the vessel would be the Games’ torch bearer for its leg from Montreal to Niagara. The torch will first be lit in Ottawa in July before heading to Montreal on CSL Welland. Once on the Welland Canal, it will be taken ashore and make its way across the Niagara region before a lighting ceremony at the opening ceremony of the Games on Aug. 6.
Niagara Falls Review
Mural unveiled on CSL Welland captures spirit of Canada Summer Games
The unveiling of “The Runners” created by four Canadian artists marks a new milestone for CSL’s biofuel program and launches the countdown to Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games.
Canada Steamship Lines marked the official opening Thursday of the St. Lawrence Seaway navigation season at Lock 3 of the Welland Canal, by unveiling “The Runners,” a spectacular work of art painted on CSL Welland, a 36,364 DWT Trillium Class bulk carrier.
Inspired by Greek artistic traditions depicting sport, the colossal 16-by-14-meter mural painted on the ship’s accommodation block depicts four runners in motion, striving together towards a common goal.
CSL commissioned the mural, created by renowned Canadian artists Bryan Beyung, Emmanuel Jarus, Andrea Wan and K.C. Hall, to celebrate the spirit of the 2022 Canada Summer Games taking place throughout the Niagara Region from August 6th to the 21st.
Each artist painted a runner according to their distinct style, vision and tradition. Together, the four runners create a collective and harmonious work that reflects the broad mix of people, cultures, backgrounds and abilities in amateur sport today.
“As the primary sponsor of the Canada Games Torch Relay, we were very excited to work with these young artists,” says Louis Martel, CSL President and CEO. “They were able to capture the spirit of athleticism and the common values we share with the Games – collaboration, inclusion, diversity, integrity, responsibility and perseverance.”
“The original work of art will serve as a lasting legacy to the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games and the ideals they represent,” says Doug Hamilton, Board Chair of the Niagara 2022 Host Society. “We can’t wait to watch CSL Welland and this wonderful mural build energy and excitement for the Games – and we look forward to seeing a CSL ship carry the Canada Games torch for the first time in the event’s history.”
CSL selected the aptly named CSL Welland for this project to honor the communities of the Niagara Region with which the company has close ties, and because of the vessel’s distinction as a pioneer in supporting sustainable shipping in the Great Lakes.
CSL is committed to striving for a zero-carbon future. As an active participant in CSL’s biofuel program, CSL Welland has logged the most engine hours on B100 biodiesel of any vessel in the world. The success of using biofuel on CSL Welland and other CSL ships demonstrates the viability and practicality of this green alternative in supporting the decarbonization of marine transportation.
Since 2019, CSL ships have accumulated nearly 30,000 running hours on biodiesel, representing the world’s longest running biofuel trials. The result has seen lifecycle reductions of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of 80 percent, compared with using marine gas oil.
“We are excited to announce we will be pursuing our B100 biofuel program on eight ships during the 2022-23 Great Lakes navigation season,” says Martel.
“Just like the runners depicted in the mural, CSL is committed to continuous improvement and to finding solutions to stay at the forefront of safer, greener and more responsible shipping,” he added. “We do it for these young athletes and artists, and we do it for the future of our customers, communities, environment and industry.”
CSL
2022 edition of “Know Your Ships” ready for new shipping season
The new shipping season is at hand, and so is the release of the 2022 edition of Know Your Ships, the popular annual field guide to boats and boatwatching on the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway.
This year’s 200-page book includes information on U.S., Canadian and international-flag cargo vessels, tugs, excursion boats and barges in regular Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway service, including owner and port of registry, year and shipyard where built, length, beam, depth, cargo capacity and former names, plus type of engine, horsepower and more.
In the Spotlight section, you can read stories about the 50th anniversary of the Stewart J. Cort, check out some of the unique cargos carried on the lakes in 2021, get to know the ship-to-shore chef Catherine Schmuck and more.
Standard and spiral bindings are available. Order at this link: www.knowyourships.com
