Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway Kicks Off 2022 Navigation Season

GLSP Launches New Video to Highlight Our Waterway

Washington, D.C. (March 22, 2022) – The St. Lawrence Seaway kicked off its 2022 navigation season today, with international freighters able to arrive at the Montreal – Lake Ontario section of the binational St. Lawrence Seaway as early as 8 a.m. this morning.

“We’re thrilled to start the 2022 navigation season,” said Craig Middlebrook, Deputy Administrator of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. “This year we’re confident that the St. Lawrence Seaway will continue to be a major driver of economic development while offering solutions to the environmental and supply chain challenges facing shippers around the world.”

As winter turns to spring and ice on the St. Lawrence River clears, ports on the Montreal – Lake Ontario Section will be the first to open their docks for the 2022 season. The Welland Canal, which connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, is set to open on March 24th. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to open the Soo Locks in northern Michigan on March 25. The Soo Locks connect Lake Superior and Lake Huron.

Ports across the Great Lakes are excited for and optimistic about the year ahead:

“The 2022 Navigation Season is already shaping up to be a strong year for the Port of Cleveland. We are expecting to build on the success we achieved in 2021 as we continue to position Cleveland – and the Great Lakes – as a key destination for cargo,” David Gutheil, Chief Commercial Officer, Port of Cleveland.

“Michigan’s Gateway Port will launch 2022 with great pride, as we start the construction of the first marine container terminal in the state of Michigan, scheduled to open in 2023”, said Paul LaMarre III, Port Director, Port of Monroe. “We will also take delivery of our new 165-ton Manitowoc crawler crane and complete significant dredging work with the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Improving infrastructure is a theme across the United States, and we are proud to say that we are doing our part for the Great Lakes and country, right here in Monroe, Michigan.”

New Video Highlights the Great Lakes Seaway Shipping System

To help the public better understand our waterway and its importance to the economy, the Great Lakes Seaway Partnership today launched a new video, highlighting the sustainable, positive, and far-reaching economic impacts of Great Lakes Seaway shipping.

Watch the full video HERE

The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system serves a dynamic economic region that includes eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. If the region were a country, it would have the 3^rd largest economy in the world with a GDP of $5.5 trillion – larger than that of Japan, Germany, Brazil, or the United Kingdom. The region is home to 107 million people and accounts for almost 40 percent of the total cross-border trade between the U.S. and Canada.

Great Lakes-Seaway shipping is a foundation of this vibrant economy. More than 140 million metric tons of commercial cargo are transported on the waterway each year, providing low-cost and efficient transportation for the region’s manufacturing, mining, agriculture, and energy sectors. Great Lakes-Seaway shipping lifts American and Canadian economies on an annual basis by supporting:

• 237,868 jobs
• $35 billion in economic activity
• $14.2 billion in personal income and local consumption expenditures
• $6.6 billion in federal, state/provincial, and local tax revenue

More information on the Great Lakes Seaway System can be viewed at https://greatlakesseaway.org/our-system/

Join the conversation through The Great Lakes Seaway Partnership’s social channels on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

About the Great Lakes Seaway Partnership

The Great Lakes Seaway Partnership is a coalition of leading US and Canadian maritime organizations working to enhance public understanding of the benefits of commercial shipping in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway region of North America. The organization manages an education-focused communications program, sponsors research and works closely with media, policy makers, community groups, allied industries, environmental stakeholders, and the general public to highlight the positive attributes of marine transportation.

For more information, please visit www.greatlakesseaway.org.

###