Bright future ahead for the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway

A VITAL WATERWAY
The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River have been major North American trade arteries since long before the US or Canada achieved nationhood. Today, this integrated navigation system serves miners, farmers, factory workers and commercial interests from the western prairies to the eastern seaboard.

• iron ore for the steel industry;
• coal for power generation and steel production;
• limestone for construction and steel industries;
• grain for overseas markets;
• general cargo, such as iron and steel products and heavy machinery; and
• cement, salt and stone aggregates for agriculture and industry.

The primary carrier vessels fall into three main groups: the resident Great Lakes bulk carriers or ‘lakers’; ocean ships or ‘salties’; and tug-propelled barges. US and Canadian lakers move cargo among Great Lakes ports, with both nations’ laws reserving domestic commerce to their own flag carriers. Salties flying the flags of other nations connect the Lakes with all parts
of the world. To realize the magnitude of this commerce, consider the

• one 1,000ft-long Great Lakes vessel carries enough iron ore to operate a giant steel mill for more than four days;
• a similar ‘super laker’ carries enough coal to power Greater Detroit for one day; and
• a Seaway-size vessel moves enough wheat to make bread for every resident of New York City for nearly a month.

For every tonne of cargo, there are scores — often hundreds — of human faces behind the scenes. On board, there are the mariners themselves, while shore side there are lock operators and longshoremen, vessel agents and freight forwarders, ship chandlers and shipyard workers, stevedores and terminal operators, Coast Guard personnel and port officials, railroad workers and truck drivers — a wide web of service providers.
Opened to navigation in 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway part of the system has moved more than 2.5 billion metric tonnes of cargo in 50 years, with an estimated value of more than $375 billion. Almost 25% of this cargo travels to and from overseas ports, especially Europe, South America, the Middle East, and Africa.
A SHARED RESOURCE FACING MULTIPLE DEMANDS
Since its inception in 1959, over 2.5 billion tonnes of cargo valued in excess of $375 billion has been transported via the Seaway. The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC), on behalf of the Government of Canada, and the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC), on behalf of the United States Government, are dedicated to managing the Seaway channels and locks based upon the precepts found in the three ‘pillars’ of sustainability:

• environmental – the SLSMC and SLSDC work diligently in overseeing transits into their waters, such that marine carriers move cargo in a manner that minimizes their environmental footprint;
• economic — the SLSMC and SLSDC adapt new work practices and procedures and leverage technology to further refine their operations. The end result is a transportation system that moves tonnage cost effectively, reinforcing stakeholders’ economic competitiveness.
• social — the SLSMC and SLSDC continue to advocate the advantages of moving cargo via the Great Lakes Seaway System, recognizing that marine transportation is the most energy efficient mode, having a very advantageous greenhouse gas footprint.

SUPERIOR FUEL ECONOMY
REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
MARINE FUELS
Vessels sailing within the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes use a wide variety of fuels. The actual fuel used depends upon the type of engine and auxiliary power units installed in the vessel, and the vessel’s trading pattern. Most vessels, whether oceangoing or dedicated to the lake trade use heavy fuels varying from Intermediate Fuel 60 to Intermediate Fuel 700. The number indicates the viscosity or thickness. Vessels with steam propulsion normally use heavy fuels in the Intermediate Fuel 380 to Intermediate Fuel 700 range in their boilers whereas diesel-propelled ships consume lighter blends between Intermediate Fuel 60 and Intermediate Fuel 320. Marine diesel oil is also consumed by some vessels, and this fuel consists primarily of distillate fuel with a very small quantity of heavy fuel added or gas oil which is pure distillate available in several grades. Heavy fuel supplies
IMPROVING AIR QUALITY
A single Seaway-sized laker can carry about 25,000 tonnes of cargo. To carry an equivalent amount of cargo, you would need to assemble a fleet of 870 large trucks or 225 rail cars.
MOVING CARGO SAFELY
MINIMIZING SPILLS, NOISE, AND CONGESTION
Quality of life cannot be defined strictly by the price of goods on a supermarket shelf. It is important to consider what it takes to get the goods to market. These factors include not only energy efficiency, emissions, and safety, but also factors such as spills, noise and congestion that the movement of goods brings about.
‘Spills’ in this context refers to harmful discharges into the environment occurring as a consequence of freight transportation. Within this definition, are included cargo leakages, accidental or deliberate spills, and discharges of materials used in the transportation process — most prominently fuels or lubricants used by vehicles or vessels.
Noise from transport is commonly held to be a nuisance, particularly by those living near airports, rail marshalling yards, and highways. Noise is difficult to measure in ways which represent the nuisance that it produces.
In the absence of any quantitative evidence, it can only be conjectured how noise nuisance differs among the three freight modes. However, in view of the relative proximity of transport operations to residential areas, as well as the inherent nature of the transportation equipment and engines, it is proposed that trucks impose the greatest noise nuisance per tonne-km while vessels impose the least amount of noise nuisance.
Traffic congestion impacts a number of factors, including delays in shipments, increased greenhouse gas emissions, higher air contamination, and increased noise. In the absence of quantified estimates for traffic conditions in the region bordering the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway, only conjecture of qualitative rankings is possible. It is clear from the nature of marine traffic that there are few, if any, delays on the water. In terms of rail, some serious congestion occurs around Chicago, the largest US rail hub, and the location of substantial transshipment activity. Considering truck traffic, there is severe congestion during rush hours in all of the major cities, and some cities such as Toronto are experiencing increasing congestion even within the daytime period between rush hour peaks.GREEN MARINE – AN INDUSTRY FIRST
The St. Lawrence and Great Lakes marine industry is taking action to strengthen its environmental performance. For the first time in North America, all sectors of the marine industry have united to voluntarily adopt an environmental programme designed to drive a process of continuous improvement along
this major maritime corridor. The programme, entitled, ‘Green Marine’, is being

• American Great Lakes Ports Association
• Canadian Shipowners Association
• Chamber of Marine Commerce
• Ontario Marine Transportation Forum y Shipping Federation of Canada
• St. Lawrence Economic Development Council (SODES)
• St. Lawrence Shipoperators and
• United States Great Lakes Shipping Association