Gateway at a Glance: Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Seaway

By Joe Zelasney

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway are collectively referred to as the “fourth seacoast.” The waterway stretches 2,342 miles from Anticosti Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Duluth, Minnesota at the western extreme of Lake Superior. This shortcut to the continent’s interior is the world’s longest deep-draft inland waterway.

The marine highway flows directly into the commercial, industrial, and agricultural heartland of North America, providing access to an area that is home to some 100 million people — approximately one quarter of the combined U.S.-Canadian population.

Fifteen major international ports and more than 50 regional ports line the seaway and Great Lakes; providing connections to nearly 30 rail lines and more than 40 interstate and provincial highways, effectively linking products, consumers, and industries all over North America.

The Great Lakes are home to the U.S.-Flag fleet, the Canadian-Flag Fleet, and scores of international vessels that transit the waterway each year. A study conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined Great Lakes shipping saves shippers $3.6 billion a year when compared to the next least-expensive land-based mode of transportation.

In addition to the five Great Lakes — Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior — the waterway’s traffic relies on a series of rivers, canals, channels, and locks: the St. Lawrence Seaway and Welland Canal, the Detroit River (Lake St. Clair), St. Clair River section, and the Soo Locks channel.

The Soo Locks
Each year, 80-90 million tons of cargo pass through the Soo Locks and channel on the St. Mary’s River, a hub of navigation on the Great Lakes. The locks neutralize a 23 ft. rise while the channel extends 62 miles between Lake Huron and Lake Superior.

Currently there are four U.S. locks and one smaller Canadian lock. The Poe Lock, completed in 1969, is the largest. The 1,200 foot long and 110 foot wide lock revolutionized lake transport by allowing larger ships to navigate the passage. The U.S.-Flag fleet developed a new class of 1,000 foot “super carriers.” The ships were constructed on the Great Lakes, and their use is restricted to the upper Great Lakes: lock dimensions prohibit them from entering the Welland Canal.

Seventy percent of U.S.-Flag carrying capacity on the Great Lakes is restricted to the Poe Lock. If the lock were debilitated for a lengthy period of time, the economic effects would be acute. A new Poe-sized lock has been in the planning stages for two decades and is ready to move forward if funding is secured. Congress first authorized a new lock at the site back in 1986. Construction has been estimated at $475 million and could begin as early as next spring (depending on how appropriations from the 2009 stimulus package shake out).

Detroit River – Lake St. Clair – St. Clair River
Lake St. Clair is shallow, averaging just 10 feet deep (and pales in comparison to Lake Superior’s max. depth of 1,332 feet). In order to accommodate deep-draft shipping between Lake Erie and Lake Huron, a 27-foot deep navigation channel has been dredged. This deep-water shipping channel extends 90 miles, connecting the Detroit River to Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River, providing access between Lake Erie and Lake Huron. Lake Huron enjoys a natural connection to Lake Michigan.

St. Lawrence Seaway
The St. Lawrence Seaway connects Montreal to Lake Erie via two sets of locks and a series of canals. In total there are 13 Canadian and two U.S. locks jointly operated and maintained by The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (U.S.) and The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System (Canada).
The eastern most section of the seaway is a series of seven locks, which connect Montreal to Lake Ontario, effectively bridging a distance of 191 miles and overcoming an elevation of 245 feet.
The Welland Canal and its eight locks were constructed to bypass Niagara Falls, climbing over 330 feet in elevation and traveling 27 miles between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The St. Lawrence Seaway is one of the most impressive feats of structural engineering anywhere in the world.

Vessels and Cargo
The U.S.-Flag fleet includes roughly 60 bulk carriers and tankers, plus dozens of smaller articulated tug and barge units. The fleet typically hauls 115 million tons of cargo during a 10-month shipping season; shipping on the lakes is restricted during the winter due to ice.

The U.S.-Flag fleet plays an essential role in moving the raw materials that drive the nation’s economy:

• Iron ore and fluxstone for the steel industry
• Limestone and cement for the construction industry
• Coal for electrical power generation
• Other cargoes including salt, sand, grain, fuel oil, petroleum products, chemicals, and forest products.

International and domestic container traffic accounts for a fraction of cargo on the lakes. The potential for increased short sea shipping of containerized goods remains.

Depth
Water levels in the Great Lakes follow a natural cycle; they rise in the spring, peak in the summer, and reach a low in the winter. Water levels are absolutely vital to the efficient movement of cargo on the Great Lakes. A slight decrease in the depth of a waterway means that a vessel must decrease its draft. A 1,000-foot Great Lakes “super carrier” must shed 270 tons of cargo for each inch of reduction in its draft!

There have been numerous attempts in the last 10 years to take Great Lakes water outside the Great Lakes basin for irrigation projects and to use for municipal water supply, and scientists believe climate change may be accelerating the rate of evaporation on the Great Lakes, slowing their rate of renewal even more.

With so many harbors, channels, and canals to maintain, even a moderate drop in water levels could pose a serious threat to commercial navigation on the Great Lakes.

Invasive Species
The Environmental Protection Agency recently released a study identifying 30 non-native species that pose a medium or high risk of reaching the lakes, and 28 others that already have a foothold and could disperse widely. Most invasive species enter the lakes in the ballast tanks of ships coming from overseas. The U.S. and Canada now require tank flushing at sea, which is meant to kill would be invaders, but some people are calling for stricter standards, such as tank sterilization technology requirements.

At least 185 non-native species are currently known to have a presence in the Great Lakes, although the report said just 13 have done extensive damage to the aquatic environment and regional economy. Perhaps the most notorious are the fish-killing sea lamprey and the zebra mussel, which clogs the intake pipes of power plants, industrial facilities, and public water systems, costing the region hundreds of millions of dollars each year on cleanup and repairs. n

In This Issue

News, Trends & Analysis
New Items

Inventory Investment and the Implications on GDP Growth

Supply Chain
Responding to Changes in the Supply Chain

Compliance Corner: How to Utilize Technology to Manage Global Trade Compliance

Overseas Opportunities for Exporters

Create a Strategy before Cutting Costs

Features
Gateway at a Glance – Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway

2009 Ro-Ro Trend

Supply Chain product review
Automotive Supply Chain Software

Ports & infrastructure
Five Major Ports, Five Different Ways to Handle the Recession

Funding a National Freight Policy

Commentary
Will the Stimulus Package Help the Trade Conditions?

Casualties

Who, What, Where, When

Final Say