Welland Canal Opens; Season of Shipping Begins

The Welland Canal officially opened for the 2026 navigation season Sunday morning with the traditional ceremony honoring the Master of the first vessel through. Captain Donald Kemp of Algoma Central Corporation's *Radcliffe R. Latimer* received the ceremonial top hat from Port Colborne Mayor Bill Steele after locking through at Lock 8—a moment that marks the symbolic start of another year of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway commerce. Just south of the Canadian locks, the ice situation remains a factor for upbound traffic. The tug-barge *Dirk S. VanEnkevort/Michigan Trader* arrived at DeTour late Saturday after a slow passage through winter ice, dropping anchor south of Lime Island while U.S. Coast Guard cutters Biscayne Bay, Katmai Bay, and Neah Bay work to cut a channel. The vessel is expected to move to Soo Harbor and tie up at the lower Poe Lock pier to wait for the Sault locks to open at 12:01 a.m.—a reminder that even with spring advancing, ice breaks up unevenly across the system. Downbound, the *Herbert C. Jackson* hit mechanical trouble while transiting the Livingstone Channel near Detroit. She tied up at Monroe on the same day she departed winter layup at Ecorse, then returned to Ecorse on Thursday. The *Whitefish Bay*, recovering from bow damage suffered at Windsor, was underway to Chicago Friday with salt cargo, while *Frontenac* took over *Whitefish Bay's* commitments and entered a short layup at Port Colborne. Water levels remain favorable across the system: Lake Erie sits 1.93 feet above Low Water Datum, and all upper lakes are running above datum as well, supporting the early-season vessel movements. The season ahead will test the lakes' resilience. As ice clears and commerce rebounds, salt from winter road operations continues accumulating in Great Lakes watersheds—particularly Lake Simcoe and Ontario's tributaries, where year-round contamination of drinking water sources remains a growing concern for the region.