Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System

11 Apr

Great Lakes group honors Sen. Stabenow for maritime efforts

Professional Mariner StaffIndustry NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Ports, shipping

(WASHINGTON) — The Great Lakes Maritime Task Force (GLMTF) on Wednesday recognized the significant contributions U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., has made throughout her congressional career protecting the Great Lakes Navigation System and supporting American jobs with investment in U.S.-flagged Great Lakes shipping. Stabenow, who co-chairs the bipartisan Senate Great Lakes Task Force, has been the driving force behind the…

03 Apr

Iron ore shipments surge on Great Lakes in March

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Ports, shipping

(CLEVELAND) — Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 1.6 million tons in March, an increase of 25.5 percent compared to 2023. Loadings also topped the month’s five-year average by 47.5 percent. Year to date, the iron ore trade stands at 4.4 million tons, an increase of 16.8 percent compared to a year ago. Iron ore shipments are…

21 Mar

Canadian school uses virtual reality to promote maritime careers

Professional Mariner StaffLicensing & TrainingGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Jobs

(OTTAWA, Ontario) — Ocean School, a groundbreaking collaboration between Dalhousie University, the Ocean Frontier Institute and the National Film Board of Canada, has unveiled "Shipping on the Seaway," an educational experience designed to ignite curiosity and foster a deeper understanding of maritime transportation among youth ages 11 to 17. With 43 percent of the marine workforce expected to retire in…

18 Mar

Great Lakes bulker suffers second fire in less than a year

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, shipping

(ASHTABULA, Ohio) — A fire broke out Friday aboard the 81-year-old bulk carrier Cuyahoga, one of the oldest cargo vessels transiting the Great Lakes, while the ship was docked along Lake Erie. The U.S. Coast Guard reported that the captain and crew of the vessel were not injured. According to the Coast Guard, the 664-foot Cuyahoga was undergoing maintenance in…

11 Mar

Grant equity, icebreakers top Great Lakes ports agenda

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Pilots, Ports, shipping

(WASHINGTON) — At its winter meeting in Washington, D.C., last week, the American Great Lakes Ports Association (AGLPA) adopted the following policy agenda for 2024. AGLPA works to promote public policies that enhanced maritime commerce on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway System. Distribute of port infrastructure grants equitably The Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) is the primary source…

04 Mar

Congress finalizes funds for key Great Lakes interests

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Icebreakers, Ports, shipping

(WASHINGTON) — Five months after the beginning of the fiscal year, Congress unveiled its final spending plan for a handful of government agencies Sunday. These include programs of critical importance to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway maritime industry. How did we get here? As a reminder, the federal fiscal year begins on Oct. 1 and ends on Sept. 30 of…

14 Feb

Shippers investing $120 million into Great Lakes fleet

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Ports, shipbuilding, shipping

(CLEVELAND) — The annual process of maintaining the U.S.-flagged fleet of “lakers” on the Great Lakes began in mid-January after the navigational locks connecting Lake Superior to the lower lakes closed for repairs. 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. The state receiving…

09 Feb

U.S. Great Lakes pilotage costs to rise 7 percent

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Pilots, Ports, shipping

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Coast Guard published a final rule Friday in the Federal Register outlining U.S. Great Lakes pilotage rates for the 2024 shipping season. The new rates seek to generate revenue for each of the three U.S. Great Lakes pilot associations by implementing hourly charges for pilotage services according to geographic area. Pilotage rates are paid by vessel…

01 Feb

U.S.-flag Great Lakes cargoes up 6.5 percent in 2023

Professional Mariner StaffMaritime NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Ports, shipping

(CLEVELAND) — U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters (lakers) moved 81.4 million tons of cargo in 2023, an increase of 6.5 percent compared to 2022. The 2023 float was 1.2 percent above the fleet’s five-year average. Iron ore cargoes totaled 42.4 million tons, an increase of 13.4 percent compared to a year earlier. Coal cargoes were down 9.7 percent to 8.4 million…

24 Jan

AGLPA to hold annual conference in August

Professional Mariner StaffIndustry NewsGreat Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, Ports

(WASHINGTON) — The American Great Lakes Ports Association (AGLPA) will hold its 2024 Annual Conference on Aug. 8-9 in Chicago. This event brings together leaders of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway maritime industry, including seaport managers, terminal operators, shipping company executives, engineering firms, marine contractors, maritime trade associations, academia, local, state and federal government officials, and the many…