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    Shipping and Logistics

    Great Lakes Preparing for Shipping Season and Lock Construction

    Written by Sandy Williams


    The Soo Locks are scheduled to reopen on March 25 to begin the new shipping season on the Great Lakes. The last vessel through the locks was the Canadian bulk-carrier Manitoulin headed for Essar Steel on Jan. 15. The locks are currently closed for maintenance prior to the start of the 2019-20 season.

    During the maintenance phase the two operating locks of the Soo complex, the Poe and MacArthur, are drained of water so that inspection and repairs can be performed. In the picture below, steel stop logs are inserted into the upper end of the Poe Lock to create a temporary dam spanning the lock chamber. Each log weighs about 49 tons and is stacked on top of another.

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