Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Saw and read somewhere, I think the Seaway and its locks are due to close around January 7 or 8 while the Welland Canal is due to close on January 10? Hopefully at that time they won’t be dealing with any ice to cause delays!

Guest wrote: November 10, 2024, 8:04 pm The real question is if one side of the soo locks will stay open year round once the new lock becomes operational.

It gives the ability to shut one side down, do Maintainance then once complete reopen and shut the order side down. That means for portions of the year only 1 1000’ capable lock is open. But that has been the case for the last 50 years.

I understood that the current lock (Poe) will be refurbished after the new lock opens so it will be one lock even after the new one opens

The Speer was stuck in Rock Cut January 2004. There were nine boats behind her. The locks were extended to be open till the end of January. The weather changed and everything iced up. We (I was on the PI) were waiting on the Speer for 3 1/2 days at Mission Point. Finally, we offloaded on one of the AAAs, and went down the unbound channel.

Someday, there will little ice in the winter, but it may be out a decade or two.

The Welland Canal has been for the past few years now doing an experiment I think it is on extending the closing of the Canal thus, their part of the shipping season now goes into early January. However, there was one year I recall where a saltie I think got stuck along with caught in ice in one of the Welland Locks. It caused a major backup and delays then to where it took several days and many tugs and different approaches and ideas to try and free the Saltie to which fortunately it got free! Even the Soo in January in years past has had issues at closing time with ice jams and ships getting stuck in ice and needing help from tugs to assist them. I recall years ago, the Speer being caught in ice once down in the lower portion of the St. Marys River. It took several days and 4 or more tugs to try to free her from the ice back then. So, it’s hard to say yet and judge what this years’ ending of the shipping season will be like then? Will it be a hard winter and will things at some point start to freeze up? What about any ice in the rivers or lakes this Winter and will it turn cold enough to create any ice build ups and jams? I guess only Mother Nature has the answers to these questions for now at least. One thing though, many parts of Michigan right now are dry and facing drought like conditions due to the lack of rainfall lately. Depending on our Winter, IF we don’t see or get much rain or snow it could then mean a dry Spring to start with next season and in turn maybe lower water levels! I can say first and foremost the levels are dropping and I’ve noticed it on the St. Clair River as it has dropped their quite a bit. The ships I don’t believe are carrying deep loads like they did in 2019 when we were having record high water then. So, we’ll have to wait and see then!

The real question is if one side of the soo locks will stay open year round once the new lock becomes operational.

It gives the ability to shut one side down, do Maintainance then once complete reopen and shut the order side down. That means for portions of the year only 1 1000’ capable lock is open. But that has been the case for the last 50 years.

A shut down is essential for maintenance on the locks / seaway. For certain repairs dewatering is a must hence cannot be done during canal operations.

The Guest is right in pointing out that winter is a key time for ship and Seaway maintenance. A point in my mind in raising this topic is....will the bodies concerned find alternative ways to get the maintenance stuff done yet keep a semblance of operations with ships running and bringing in some valuable $$$ beyond usual seasonal earnings.

Last winter would have been navigable on most of the lakes, but the Soo Locks still need to close for two months each year for annual maintenance. (Not to mention lock closures on the Welland Canal.) Plus, the downtime allows fleets to do maintenance on their ships… and gives the crews time off to be with their families. Some ships will continue to run on the lower lakes as is usual, if weather permits.

Denny,
Sitting here in the GTHA (greater Toronto Hamilton area) and temps are running around 20C/70 in F!! Its mid November!!
My trees are still in full leaf!
My point today is that I am really starting to feel that yes, the season called winter will come BUT....
What if the extremes we are used to don’t some? What plans are being made by SLSA,shipping companies,ports etc.should climate allow for navigable lakes, rivers, and canals if winter is temperate wit us?
I put this out to you and the forum. Like to know if it’s crossed your minds and the thoughts of others.