In January, the Soo Locks officially closed for the 2023-2024 Great Lakes navigation season. The Philip R. Clarke was the last the last vessel through the locks before the closure.
Each year, the locks undergo critical repairs and maintenance during the 10 week-long winter shutdown. Maintenance crews performed a variety of critical tasks on the Poe Lock, including structural inspections, maintenance, and installation of lifting lugs on the upstream miter gate.
On the downstream miter gates crews installed anchorage components and completed critical structural repairs. Major rehabilitation continued on the Poe Lock’s upstream and downstream ship arrestor systems.
The annual process of maintaining U.S.-flagged fleet of lake carriers on the Great Lakes began in mid-January after the navigational locks connecting Lake Superior to the lower lakes closed for repairs.
During the off season, U.S. companies will invest more than $120 million into their vessels bringing skilled labor to shipyards and repair facilities around the Great Lakes states.
Wisconsin will lead investments with $55 million followed by Ohio with $39 million, Pennsylvania at $19 million, and $7 million in Michigan.
During winter maintenance, engineers carefully inspect each vessel and execute any needed repairs while also upgrading systems and crew quarters.
Major investments have been made to improve habitability onboard the vessels including wireless communications.
Some ships will be re-fitted with state-of-the-art electronics including navigational computers and propulsion control systems.
Hull plating will be replaced with steel made from iron ore that was shipped by the vessels to steel mills during the season.
This winter, milder than normal winter conditions across the Great Lakes region have allowed crews to work with less interruptions.
During a 10-week off season, lock workers conduct preventative maintenance, replace worn components and inspect the locks.
When a lock is dewatered, it sometimes becomes a dry dock for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers vessels allowing their hulls to be inspected and repaired.
In February, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Chicago District, hosted the T.J. O’Brien Major Rehab Structural Value Based Design Charrette at the district headquarters. The first meeting will focus on structural components and the next will consider mechanical updates for the lock.
A corrosion study was conducted to understand the needs to update the guide and lock walls to perform for the next 50 years or longer. Black & Veatch and AECOM Joint Venture along with Strategic Value Solutions, Inc. (SVS), and the Illinois Navigation Design Center (INDC) , joined district employees to come up with ideas for this project.
The T.J. O’Brien Lock and Controlling Works is located at the entrance to Lake Michigan, Calumet River, in Chicago, Illinois. The facility is a unit of the Inland Waterway Navigation System. The T.J. O’Brien lock allows recreational and commercial vessels access to the Chicago Area Waterway System and the Illinois waterway.
Located in Sault Ste Marie, MI, the Soo Locks Poe Lock opened to marine traffic at 6 p.m. on March 22, marking the start of the 2024 Great Lakes shipping season.
The shipping industry requested an early season opening to coincide with the St. Lawrence Seaway opening due the urging of major steel producers.
A Seaway strike in 2023 and extreme wind events toward the end of the last operating season left the fleet with undelivered cargo, according to President of the Lake Carriers’ Association James Weakley.
Federal regulation (33 CFR 207.440) establishes the operating season based on the feasibility of vessels operating during typical Great Lakes ice conditions.
Algoma Central Corporation’s 729’ MV Algoma Sault, a Seawaymax self-unloading bulk carrier built in 2018, was the first ship to transit through the lock in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada on Friday, March 22, 2024, marking the start of the 66th navigation season of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
On April 11, the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) Central Region, the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLS), the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC), and the United States Coast Guard Ninth District (USCG), signed a Cooperative Vessel traffic Service (CVTS) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
The MOU outlines the importance of a unified information-sharing system to improve collaboration in data exchange, augment situational awareness, and reduce the risk of human error in managing maritime traffic across the Great Lakes Marine Transportation System (MTS).
In April, M/V Sunnanvik (IMO 7633375, MMSI 316018180), a 8,600 DWT mechanical/pneumatic cement carrier began operation on the Great Lakes.
In 2023, M/V Sunnanvik was fitted with two flexible, vertical “Ventofoil” “wing” sails from Econowind. The sails harness wind energy to provide additional thrust and lower emissions. Conditions permitting, they will be tested on the Great Lakes, enhancing the vessel’s speed in favorable wind conditions.
The ship holds the distinction of being the first sail-equipped vessel to operate in the Great Lakes. M/V Sunnanvik is co-owned by CSL and SMT as part of the Eureka Shipping joint venture.
In May, the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLS) celebrated the grand opening of its new visitor center at the U.S. Eisenhower Lock in Massena, N.Y. The center will welcome
visitors to the Seaway and provide a world class tourist attraction for the region.
Navigation-related problems on the Great Lakes occur each season. On March 28, 2024, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Northern Great Lakes responded near Munuscong Lake in the St. Marys River when the 714-foot bulk cargo ship American Mariner struck Mud Lake Junction Light.
On June 8th, U.S. Coast Guard personnel responded to the bulk carrier Michipicoten taking on water in Lake Superior.
Coast Guard Sector Northern Great Lakes was contacted via VHF channel 16 at approximately 7 a.m. with a report that the 689-foot bulk carrier Michipicoten was experiencing flooding while transiting southwest of Isle Royale.
Responding to the incident were vessels from the U.S. Coast Guard, Border Patrol, and National Park Service as well as the bulk carrier Edwin H. Gott.
M/V Michipicoten (IMO: 5102865) is a Self Discharging Bulk Carrier that sails under the flag of Canada.
sources: Lake Carriers’ Association, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, United States Coast Guard Ninth District, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
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