Soo Locks Open as Michigan Trader Leads Season

The navigation season is officially underway on the Great Lakes. The tug-barge Dirk S. VanEnkevort/Michigan Trader became the first vessel to transit the Soo Locks this year, passing through at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday after waiting on the Poe Lock pier. The honor belonged to Michigan Trader because she arrived first at the locks Monday afternoon, drawing local ship watchers who braved "bitterly cold winds" in bright sunshine as she and the John G. Munson saluted the crowd near Mission Point. The John G. Munson followed as the second upbound passage, with the Edwin H. Gott and Paul R. Tregurtha queued behind them. Elsewhere on the lakes, spring cargo movements are gaining momentum. Interlake Steamship's Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder arrived at Lorain, Ohio, on Tuesday with stone from the Marblehead quarry, backing down the Black River to discharge at the Amrize dock before returning empty to reload. Meanwhile, multiple bulk carriers are repositioning: the Hon. James L. Oberstar departed Duluth for Marquette, the Mesabi Miner loaded ore and headed to Cleveland, and the Indiana Harbor moved upbound toward Superior to load. Water levels remain favorable across the system. Lake Erie stands 1.79 feet above Low Water Datum—the highest of the five lakes—while Superior measures 0.63 feet above datum at Sault Ste. Marie. Lake Michigan will see a gale watch from Thursday afternoon through late evening, with southerly winds tightening the pressure gradient, though Superior's forecast shows relatively calm conditions with a trough passing through mid-week. The Welland Canal also opened for 2026 on Sunday, with the Algoma Bear becoming the first merchant vessel through the St. Lambert Lock on the St. Lawrence Seaway. As the season begins, attention is turning to sustainable energy solutions: Great Lakes Now reports that the region is overlooking massive clean-energy potential from waste heat at sewers, data centers, and power plants—a resource that could strengthen the lakes' environmental future while supporting the shipping industry that depends on them.