Maritime Transportation And Shipping Talk

A question that has been asked me many times by local and people abroad is why the Seaway shuts down in end of December for 2-3 months? In this article we will try to answer and lay out some of the reasons for the shut-down.
When the cold period come in Canada, the Rivers and lakes freezes over and the Seaway being a man made part of Saint Lawrence River is a body of fresh water that will also freeze. The part of the seaway that is man made namely the Seaway Locks or Sluices are no different.

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The water freezes up and sticks to the cement walls in the locks and also to the lock doors. This build up of ice can be very destructive if it is allowed to get hold. It will decrease the volume of the lock it self and Seaway Max ships will not be able to pass unless it is removed. The doors them self can not be closed properly and also to get them open will be difficult as the groove or hole in the cement where they would fold in would be covered with ice and it is simply not possible to pass the ships inn and out of the locks with the doors protruding as they would in this case. Some elaboration on the above would be to explain that a Seaway Max ship might have 10” clearing on each side between the ship side and the lock wall. If that clear space is filled with ice the ship will not be able to move and would get stuck in the ice. In order for the ship to enter into the lock the water has to be able to flow out of the lock. If the space is not there for this to happen it wouldn’t be possible to enter or exit the lock by the ships. The time from the fist ice build up until the closing of the seaway is kept ice free in front of the doors by the use of large compressors that are forcing air into the water and therefor creating a bubbling action that pushes the warm water to the surface and also a current that keeps the ice away from the lock doors. In the latter part of December the ice pressure on the upside of the locks are simply to great for this system to work. The natural flow of the Saint Lawrence River is simply forcing the ice against the upside of the lock and mechanically removing the ice is simply not feasible.