North Star Port

"Winter navigation holds the key to eco- nomic stability at the Head of the Lakes," said Duluth Port Director C. Thomas Burke in 1976. "The longer we can move both foreign and domestic ships through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway, the less our area's economy is affected by season ups and downs." Then and now After more than a decade of study, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a season extension analysis and environ- mental impact statement on Dec. 31, 1979. In it, the Corps concluded that year-round shipping was both economically and envi- ronmentally feasible for the Upper Lakes and that a 10-month season was achiev- able for the St. Lawrence Seaway System. But opposition formed even before the report debuted. "Be assured," said then Duluth Port Director Davis Helberg, "that from one end of the system to the other—from Save Lake Superior to Save Our River, and from the Sierra Club to the American Associ- ation of Railroads —questions regarding environmental impact will be raised every step of the way." Save The River remains in opposition today, speaking out against extension possibilities that seem increasingly feasi- ble with winters trending warmer on the Upper Lakes. The Lake Carriers' Associa- tion also opposes extension, but for differ- ent reasons. The organization represents only the U.S.-flagged Great Lakes ships, a collection of vessels LCA believes can ade- quately fulfill cargo-carrying obligations within the current March-to-January timeframe. Additionally, the organization cites potential strain on already limited U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking assets, plus Soo Locks maintenance, as further causes for concern. The American Great Lakes Ports Asso- ciation, the Seaway corporations and the binational Chamber of Marine Commerce occupy the opposite camp, advocating for an extension that would reduce or elimi- nate the seasonality disadvantage that has plagued North America's Fourth Seacoast since the Seaway opened in 1959. "Just as climate change in the arctic has made new shipping patterns viable, warming temperatures may similarly ben- efit Great Lakes-Seaway trade by enabling a longer navigation season," wrote the AGLPA in a 2024 position paper. "Each additional day of operations would allow for a more economical use of the capital investments that have been made in ves- sels, port infrastructure and private ter- minal facilities and equipment." It would also provide an unbroken, year- round supply chain for shippers, eliminat- ing their need for a two- or three-month alternative route for their cargoes. Too often, this alternative ends up perma- nent, an affliction suffered by Great Lakes ports and the Seaway for decades, while also pushing cargoes to longer, more car- bon-intense land-based journeys. "As a general rule, when shippers lengthen the waterborne leg of the cargo journey and shorten the land-based leg, it's more environmentally efficient," said Deb DeLuca, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. "That's part of the Great Lakes- St. Lawrence Seaway System's benefit — it can help move cargo more efficiently and more sustainably, reaching the heart of North America on water and then making the overland part of the journey shorter. It saves fuel, reduces emissions and cuts highway congestion." With the Port of Duluth-Superior now consistently nearing 305 days of interlake navigation and 260 days of oceangoing nav- igation each season, it's evident that some extension is already upon us, and many would argue it's an idea whose time has come—or perhaps, that it's long overdue. Said Helberg in 1980, "We've discov- ered that the Great Lakes shipping season didn't automatically have to begin or end on a date someone circled on a calendar." 12 | NORTH STAR PORT | WINTER 2025 "The longer we can move both foreign and domestic ships through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway, the less our area's economy is affected by season ups and downs." Winter Navigation Winter Navigation M/V John J. Boland, surrounded and encrusted in ice, illustrates the challenges of winter navigation on Lake Superior. PHOTO / Kathleen Wolleat

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