Market Matters Blog           01/13 08:52

   Great Lakes Navigation Season Ending as Soo Locks Close Jan. 15, 2025

   Shipping season will end on the Great Lakes for the winter as the last of 
the Soo Locks close on Jan. 15.

Mary Kennedy
DTN Basis Analyst

   After saying goodbye to the last saltie of the season on Saturday, Dec. 28, 
2024, the Port of Duluth-Superior is getting ready for the end of laker season 
as the Soo Locks closes on Jan. 15. Laker season is longer than saltie season 
because those ships traverse the Great Lakes and are not ocean-going ships.

   "The Soo Locks' MacArthur Lock closed for the Navigation Season to conduct 
seasonal repairs and maintenance on Dec. 16, 2024," noted the USACE Detroit 
District on their website. "The Poe Lock will remain open until Jan. 15, 2025, 
or until commercial traffic ceases, whichever occurs first."

   "The Soo Project Office (SPO) is a multi-disciplinary team of teams that 
perform and oversee critical inspections, repairs and maintenance during the 
annual non-navigation closure period, often referred to as winter work," said 
LeighAnn Ryckeghem, SPO operations manager. "With both the MacArthur and Poe 
locks being well beyond intended service life, it's imperative that these 
national assets continue to be strategically managed and winter work activities 
be optimized to ensure operational reliability until the New Lock at the Soo is 
put into service."

   The Soo Locks will remain closed through 12:01 a.m. March 25, 2025, to 
perform seasonal critical maintenance. Federal regulation (33 CFR 207.440) 
establishes the operating season based on the feasibility of vessels operating 
during typical Great Lakes ice conditions.

   More than 4,500 vessels, carrying up to 80 million tons of cargo, maneuver 
through the Soo Locks annually. Iron ore, coal, wheat and limestone are the 
most frequently carried commodities.

   The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, maintains a navigation 
system including 81 harbors and channels joining lakes Superior, Michigan, 
Huron, St. Clair and Erie.

   PORT OF DULUTH-SUPERIOR PREPARES FOR HIBERNATION

   David Sauer, Schauer Photo Images, told DTN the accompanying photo was taken 
on Saturday, Jan. 11. "On the left is the Atlantic Huron with the Canada 
Steamship Company here for winter layup. On the right is the tug/barge Presque 
Isle (Duluth-based thousand-foot tug-barge)at the port for some mechanical work 
before shifting to the CN (Canadian National) dock in Duluth to take on a 
partial load of ore before returning to this slip for winter layup (the partial 
load helps keep the combination low in the water and relieves stress on the 
coupling between tug and barge). In the harbor is the arriving 1000-footer 
James R. Barker (Interlake Steamship Company) to load ore at CN, its last trip 
of the season."

   "Winter layup is showtime for the region's skilled tradespeople, who perform 
millions of dollars in maintenance work and upgrades to prepare these vessels 
for the upcoming navigation season, which will begin when the Soo Locks re-open 
on March 25," Jayson Hron, director of communication and marketing, Duluth 
Seaway Port Authority, told DTN.

   Here are the ships wintering in Duluth-Superior and where they are docked:

American Century            American Steamship Company  Hansen-Mueller Elevator 
M
CSL Atlantic Huron          Canada Steamship Lines      Clure Terminal
Honorable James L. Oberstar Interlake Steamship Company Fraser Shipyards
John J. Boland              American Steamship Company  Fraser Shipyards
Lee A. Tregurtha            Interlake Steamship Company Fraser Shipyards
Presque Isle                Key Lakes/Great Lakes Fleet Clure Terminal
Walter J. McCarthy Jr.      American Steamship Company  Ogdensburg Pier

    

   Located at the westernmost tip of Lake Superior, the Port of Duluth-Superior 
is North America's farthest-inland freshwater seaport. A remarkable 9-mile 
natural breakwater shelters the port's 49 miles of harbor frontage. Twenty 
privately owned bulk cargo docks and an award-winning general cargo terminal 
populate the working waterfront, along with a marine fueling depot, a shipyard 
with dry docks, multiple tug and barge services, plus an intermodal cargo 
terminal.

   Video of American Spirit arriving in Duluth to load iron ore pellets and 
Presque Isle arrival for winter layup on the chilly morning of Jan. 10.: 
https://youtu.be/ZFsGcdL34Cg

   Mary Kennedy can be reached at Mary.Kennedy@dtn.com

   Follow her on the social platform X @MaryCKenn




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