The Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. opened for the season at 12:01 a.m. March 25. About 96 hours later, the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) reported on March 29 the first vessel loaded with iron ore finally cleared the St. Marys River – the one and only downbound vessel to make it in four days. At that time, 19 vessels remained beset in the ice, waiting for icebreakers to clear the way to either get their loads or deliver them.
The ice delays experienced by the ships are expected to have impacts for weeks to come even after the vessels begin moving. With many ships using the same docks, vessels will be delayed again as the fleet continues to “bunch up” at the Soo. With adequate icebreaking the fleet would have naturally spread out by now.
“This logistical nightmare clearly demonstrates the problem with the early opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Canadian Coast Guard brought in an additional heavy icebreaker to open-up the Welland Canal too soon. Immediately after adding additional vessels to an overtaxed system, the heavy icebreaker left. The under-resourced Great Lakes Navigation system is now broken. Vessel flow needs to be established between the upper Great Lakes before opening the system to outside vessels,” said LCA President Jim Weakley.
With the Mackinaw, the only heavy domestic U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker, unable to lock up to Whitefish Bay (due to an engineering casualty), U.S.-flagged Lakers remained locked in ice. A capable icebreaker from Canada was deployed to the area but abruptly departed to care for a couple of Canadian ships going to Thunder Bay, Ontario. Meanwhile, the system remained essentially closed, with U.S. vessels trapped in the lower St. Marys River and Whitefish Bay. No ship had passed downbound from Duluth at the time and no cargo had been delivered to the steel mills on the southern lakes.
While the southern Great Lakes are mostly ice-free, conditions to the north are extremely difficult, requiring a heavy icebreaker in multiple locations. U.S. manufacturing like steel production continues to feel the pain of an inadequate U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking fleet. Depending on the Canadians to move U.S. cargo is not a reasonable expectation and definitely not in the best interest of the U.S. economy, the LCA reported.