The 2016 Great Lakes shipping season commenced operations March 2 and the locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. are scheduled to reopen March 25.
The 2016 Great Lakes shipping season commenced operations March 2 when the tug/barge unit Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder loaded 14,600 tons of iron ore at the Cleveland Bulk Terminal for delivery to the ArchelorMittal steel and mining company in Cleveland, Ohio, the Lakes Carriers’ Association said.
A tug/barge unit, the G.L. Ostander/Integrity, is scheduled to get underway March 7, when it will depart Milwaukee, Wis. and sail to Chicago, Ill. to deliver 3,300 tons of slag to Alpena, Mich. In addition, the iron ore trade out of Escanaba, Mich. is expected to resume operations March 16 when the Joseph L. Block loads 34,000 tons for delivery to Indiana Harbor.
Meanwhile, the locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. are scheduled to open March 25.
For the first time in several years, the movement of dry bulk cargo on Lake Michigan did not stop for the winter.
Overall in 2015, U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters moved 87.2 million tons of cargo, a decrease of 3 percent.
Great Lakes freighters resume operations
