The 2026 shipping season is stirring to life along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. At Sarnia, Ontario, the Harvest Spirit loaded grain Thursday, the first grain cargo handled at that port this year, and departed with destination Baie Comeau. Meanwhile, upbound activity continues across the system: the Samuel deChamplain/Innovation discharged at Amrize and moved to Alpena, the Alpena left layup for her namesake port, and the Mark W. Barker proceeded on her 15th shuttle of the season. At Nanticoke, Ontario, the Algoberta joined the Algocanada at Imperial Oil, signaling renewed tank barge operations.
The St. Lawrence Seaway’s Montreal-Lake Ontario section opens Sunday at 8 a.m., with ice-clearing operations already underway. The Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Martha L. Black arrived in Montreal this week to lead the charge upriver, creating channels where needed. A hovercraft will assist in the Beauharnois area, breaking pack ice between locks. These seasonal preparations are crucial: water levels remain favorable across the system, with Lake Erie standing 1.74 feet above Low Water Datum and Lake Ontario at 1.79 feet, well above low-water thresholds that can constrain loaded vessels.
Weather will test early-season operators. A clipper low tracking across the Upper Great Lakes this morning brings shifting winds and 2-3-foot waves to Michigan and Huron. Lake Erie faces a cold front Friday morning, while Lake Ontario expects the system to track offshore by tonight. By Saturday, high pressure rebuilds across most lakes, though Sunday brings another cold frontal passage with gusty northeast winds across Huron.
The opening of the Seaway also marks the season when environmental stewardship takes on new urgency. Great Lakes Now has highlighted efforts to restore arctic grayling, absent from Michigan waters for nearly a century due to overfishing, logging damage, and invasive species. As vessels resume regular passages, the health of tributary watersheds like Scajaquada Creek in Buffalo remains challenged by 150 years of industrial pollution and combined sewer overflow.