The 2025-2026 winter layup list is now up and running at  https://boatnerd3.jasonbowlerdesign.com/winter-lay-up-list-2025-2026

Ice complicates seasonal closing of St. Lawrence Seaway

CAPE VINCENT, NY – The early days of a new year usually coincide with the closing of the St. Lawrence Seaway. This year, ice appears to be complicating the passage of vessels out of the system for its official closure, which had been set for Monday.

   “At the rate things are (not) moving, it will remain ‘open’ well beyond Monday,” said Michael J. Folsom, a Seaway/ship expert and founder of the popular St. Lawrence Seaway Shipwatchers Facebook page.

   The river is quickly icing over, and several ships are delayed by the problem of getting ships nearly 78 feet wide through 80 foot wide locks. The ice wedges between the hull and the lock walls which results in the ship being stuck in the lock chamber.

   The Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers Judy Lamarsh, Des Groseilliers and Vincent Massey, as well as tugs from Le Groupe Ocean, have been working hard to keep traffic moving. Vincent Massey is headed to Thunder Bay, ON, to assist in icebreaking there.

   Friday morning at Côte Ste-Catherine, the Lyulin was able to reach the lock thanks to the Judy Lamarsh and the tug Ocean Serge Genois.

   In other news, Algoma Central’s Algoma Mariner is heading to Veracruz, Mexico, for drydock work like the Radcliffe R. Latimer did last year.

   TheNetherlands-flagged saltwater visitor Onego Duero, which lost an anchor in the St. Lawrence Seaway recently and which is experiencing mechanical issues with the windlass for the other anchor, may be forced to spend the winter at Hamilton, ON, due to the approaching deadline for the closing of the Seaway. She is currently at anchor in Hamilton harbor.

   The Seaway is set to close Jan. 5.

[Janey Anderson and other sources]

Gold-Headed Cane: Honor Goes to Captain of the Byzantion

   MONTREAL, QC – At 10:15 a.m. on Jan. 1, the Byzantion became the first ocean-going vessel of 2026 to cross the Port of Montreal’s boundary waters at Sorel without making any prior stops. In keeping with a tradition dating back more than 185 years, the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) presented its prestigious gold-headed Cane to Captain Andrejs Kuharenoks.

   Departing from the port of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, the Byzantion completed an 11-day transatlantic crossing, a remarkable feat in the middle of winter in the North Atlantic. During the last four days, the crew had to contend with sustained winds, gusts reaching 50 knots, and impressive swells reaching up to 10 meters. Flying the Marshall Islands flag, the tanker docked at Pier 109, operated by Suncor, where it is currently unloading its cargo. The ship will set sail again Jan. 3, bound for a U.S. port.

   Originally from Latvia, Captain Kuharenoks said he was honored to receive this distinction during his first career stopover in Montreal. He said he will cherish the memory of this ceremony and that this honor will reflect well on the entire crew. As a former deck officer, he always knew he wanted to devote his career to the sea, motivated by the daily challenges, the responsibilities of command, and the demands of life on board. He has been a captain since 2005.

   The gold-headed cane, engraved with the captain’s name and that of his ship, was presented to him by Julie Gascon, President and CEO of the MPA, during a ceremony held aboard the Byzantion.
   The Montreal Port Authority would also like to acknowledge the work of Central St. Lawrence Corporation pilots Patrick Fortin and Donald Morin, who guided the ship safely to port.

   “It is always a powerful symbolic moment to welcome the first ship of the year to the Port of Montreal. The Byzantion marks the start of a new season, at a time when maritime transport is set to play an increasingly important role in Canada’s economic exchanges. This first ship also reminds us that we are a great maritime nation, connected to the world by the St. Lawrence River. I would like to pay special tribute to the work of Captain Kuharenoks and his crew, and I am honored to continue this tradition, which has been part of Montreal’s maritime history for over 185 years,” said Julie Gascon, President and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority.

[Newswire.ca]

U.S. Great Lakes Winter Shipping Suffers Ice Delays

   CLEVELAND, OHIO (Jan. 2, 2026) – Winter may have started a little early this year on the Great Lakes, but neither the U.S. nor Canadian Coast Guards are keeping traffic moving through the ice.

   The U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) only heavy icebreaker, Mackinaw, has been missing in action along with several smaller icebreaking 140-foot icebreaking tugs and an ice-capable buoy tender.  The quick onset of winter caused major problems for both the USCG and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) as they attempted to complete the annual removal of floating aids to navigation before ice damaged the buoys or moved them off station.  That mission impacted icebreaking, delaying many federal icebreaking assets from assisting commercial traffic through ice that has formed across the Great Lakes.

   The CCG has not provided a single asset to the Great Lakes icebreaking effort. Two CCG icebreakers have been working in the St Lawrence Seaway around Montreal while a third has an engineering problem and remains at the dock in Sarnia, ON. Adding insult to injury, U.S. ships that call on a Canadian port are charged an icebreaking fee despite no icebreaker assistance.

   Ice is currently impacting traffic across the Great Lakes Navigation System in places like Duluth, Minnesota, the St Marys River in Michigan, the Straits of Mackinac, Green Bay, and the western basin of Lake Erie to include ports like Toledo and Sandusky, Ohio.  Delays have been significant with a recent closure of the St Marys River due to shifting ice pulling aids to navigation in the channel.  The St Marys River is the major artery of the system connecting Lake Superior to the lower lakes.

 “The U.S. Coast Guard is focused on their acquisition of Arctic Security Cutters, yet they can’t even keep our internal domestic waters open,” stated Jim Weakley, President of the Lake Carriers’ Association. “This is a major national security problem if steel mills in the U.S. cannot have a reliable supply chain during the winter.  The USCG and CCG claim that icebreaking is a shared mission, yet we haven’t seen a Canadian icebreaker operating on the Great Lakes yet this season.  We need the CCG to do their share, another heavy USCG icebreaker and we need to replace the smaller 40-plus-year-old icebreaking tugs,” Weakley added.

[Lake Carriers’ Association Press Release]

St. Marys River Traffic Moving Smoothly On Friday

   Sault Ste. Marie, MI – Despite cold temperatures and winds, vessels were moving without much difficulty Friday. Upbound traffic included Clyde S. VanEnkevort, American Century, John G. Munson, Edwin H. Gott and Lee A. Tregurtha. USCG cutters Katmai Bay and Biscayne Bay were busy all day assisting the vessels through the tricky upbound channel behind Neebish Island and in the Mud Lake/Lime Island area.

   Although CSL’s Thunder Bay hove anchor and headed for her namesake port Friday, Goulais Bay, above the locks on the Canadian side, continued to provide shelter for Wilfred Sykes and Stewart J. Cort Friday. However the Cort and American Spirit weighed anchor Friday evening and resumed their trips to Duluth and Silver Bay respectively.

   After passing through the locks, John G. Munson dropped anchor off Brimley. Joyce. L. VanEnkevort was anchored in the lee of Whitefish Point.

   AIS shows American Mariner headed for Thunder Bay, likely to load grain for Buffalo.

[Know Your Ships]