(Resource News International) — The 2008 navigation season on the Welland Canal
section of the St. Lawrence Seaway system will begin on March 20
and on the Montreal/Lake Ontario section on March 22, according
to a notice issued by the St. Lawrence Seaway Management
Corporation.
The opening of the Welland Canada has been set at for 8 a.m.
on March 20, while on the Montreal/Lake Ontario section at
8 a.m. on March 22.
Vessel transits will be subject to weather and ice
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Restrictions also may apply in some areas until lighted
navigation aids have been installed.
The Sault Ste. Marie locks and canals and the United States
Soo locks will open March 25.
Navigation on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway
generally comes to a halt in late December because of cold and
subsequent ice buildup. The resumption of navigation on the St.
Lawrence Seaway system generally occurs at the end of
March.
The St. Lawrence Seaway extends from Montreal to Lake Erie
and includes the Welland Canal. Its series of locks, canals, and
channels link the Atlantic ocean and St. Lawrence River to Lake
Ontario and the four upper Great Lakes.
Over 80 per cent of the seaway
traffic is made up of bulk cargoes such as wheat and other
grains, iron ore, coal, chemicals and oil. Manufactured goods of
all kinds, some of which are shipped in containers, make up
of the remainder of the cargoes.
The Welland Canal, the gateway to the upper lakes, is
designed to bypass Niagara Falls and carry ships over the
Niagara escarpment. The Welland Canada has a total of eight locks
and is twinned to allow for two-way traffic.
