Spring Cargo Ops Resume as High Water Tests Dams

Chris Izworski, reporting from Bay City for the Great Lakes Gazette, notes that the navigation season is stirring to life this weekend with mixed conditions across the basin. The tanker *Prime*, a former saltwater vessel now operating domestically, is due at Ludington to load calcium chloride at OxyChem for distribution to ports including Goderich, Oshawa, Bath, and Trois Rivières—marking her first venture into Great Lakes trading for the next six months. Meanwhile, in Duluth, the tug *Meredith Ashton* and her 240-foot deck barge completed the first discharge of project cargo at the newly opened Berth 10 on the Clure Terminal Expansion, a milestone for that infrastructure investment completed last March. At Manitowoc, the *St. Marys Conquest* and barge *Bradshaw McKee* are positioned as the port prepares to leverage $20 million in recent federal funding for storage, equipment upgrades, and rail expansion. Water levels remain favorable across all five lakes, with Lake Ontario at 3.39 feet above Low Water Datum and Lake Erie at 2.77 feet—conditions that support early-season operations. High pressure dominates the forecast through early Monday, with generally light to moderate seas (1–2 feet) and easterly breezes expected. One complication: the seasonal carferry *Kristen D* out of Cheboygan faces a potential late start due to high water and snowmelt straining the Cheboygan River watershed. Federal and state officials closed boating access below the Cheboygan Lock and Dam on Sunday as a precaution. This confluence of intense rain on snow has overwhelmed aging dam infrastructure across Michigan and Wisconsin—a pattern researchers warn will intensify in a warming climate.