First Ship through St. Lawrence Seaway in 2015 Runs Aground
The first ship of the 2015 season to travel up the St. Lawrence Seaway, the waterway link between North America’s Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, ran aground after hitting a large floe of ice near Beauharnois, Quebec, on April 3.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has deployed a team of investigators to Beauharnois to gather information and assess the conditions under which the 2014-built bulk carrier CWB Marquis ran aground. At the time of the incident, the bulker was laden with 29,000 tonnes of iron ore.
The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) marked the opening of the Seaway’s 57th navigation season April 2, with the transit of the CWB Marquis through the St. Lambert Lock.
The vessel is the first of two Equinox-class lakers ordered by Winnipeg-based grain marketer CWB that are being purpose-built for trade in the St. Lawrence Seaway.
SLSMC says that the CWB Marquis, managed by Canadian shipping company Algoma Central Corporation, is part of a CAD 4 billion (USD 3.2b) fleet renewal program being undertaken by various Great Lakes / Seaway System carriers over a span of 10 years (2009-2018).
Image: CWB
