Season Opens: 1,000-Footers Head Out from Twin Ports

Spring has officially arrived on Lake Superior. The Soo Locks opened for ship traffic just after midnight Wednesday, March 25, and the fleet wasted no time answering the call. MV Indiana Harbor departed the Twin Ports on Thursday morning bound for Two Harbors after fueling, followed a day earlier by her American Steamship Company fleetmate Burns Harbor, which headed to Silver Bay. Both 1,000-footers are ready to haul ore and cargo after a winter layup, signaling the start of what promises to be a challenging navigation season. The activity at Superior has been brisk. Mesabi Miner, operated by Interlake Steamship, left Duluth for Cleveland on Monday after loading ore at the LS&I dock. Upbound traffic includes the John G. Munson, which experienced engine trouble at Duluth's West Pier on Wednesday morning but resumed her voyage to Marquette by early afternoon after tugs Colorado and Cheraw broke ice and assisted her to the dock. Paul R. Tregurtha and Kathy McKeil followed in the upbound queue. At the locks themselves, the Dirk S. VanEnkevort/Michigan Trader and John G. Munson waited Monday for the official 12:01 a.m. opening, while Edwin H. Gott and Paul R. Tregurtha staged below Lime Island. Downbound, the Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder articulated tug-barge arrived at Lorain, Ohio, on Tuesday with stone cargo from Marblehead, backing into the Black River to discharge at the Amrize dock before returning empty to Marblehead. Water levels across the system remain favorable: Lake Superior sits 0.36 feet above Low Water Datum at Sault Ste. Marie, while Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario range from 1.26 to 2.01 feet above datum. Moderate northerly winds and one-to-four-foot waves are expected through the weekend as high pressure builds across the region. The season's start comes as the Great Lakes face urgent questions about clean energy. New research highlights massive untapped potential in waste heat from sewers, data centers, and power plants—resources that could help power the region while reducing environmental strain on the lakes that sustain both shipping and aquatic life for generations to come.