Portuguese Tanker Zea Lilian Arrives for First Great Lakes Season

Chris Izworski, reporting from Bay City for the Great Lakes Gazette, notes that spring vessel traffic is gathering momentum as the navigation season fully opens. The Portuguese tanker *Zea Lilian* (426 feet, IMO 9318228) transited the Welland Canal on Sunday and was anchored above Sarnia, Ontario, by Monday evening—marking her maiden voyage into the Great Lakes. Close behind came another tanker newcomer, the *EK-Stream* (IMO 9808261), operated by Ektank AB of Gothenburg, Sweden, also Sarnia-bound and passing through the Canal on Monday night. These arrivals signal that after weeks of high water and ice-related delays, the Lakes are welcoming fresh tonnage. Upbound traffic has resumed in earnest. The cement-carrying barge *Integrity* and her tug *G.L. Ostrander* made their entrance into the Saginaw River on Sunday—the river's first vessel call of 2026 after flooding prevented earlier arrivals from Alpena and Iver Bright. *Integrity* now sports new Amrize billboards, reflecting recent ownership changes. Water levels remain favorable across the system: Lake Ontario sits at 3.41 feet above Low Water Datum, Erie at 2.81 feet, and Lake Michigan at 1.80 feet. Forecasters expect weak high pressure to dominate through week's end, with light waves across Superior, Michigan, and Huron (1 foot), though Erie and Ontario will see modest 2-foot conditions. Elsewhere, McKeil Marine's *Northern Venture* is undergoing propeller repairs at Ontario Shipyards' Graving Dock #2 in Port Weller, having arrived April 11. A new 76-foot U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tug, the *H.J. Lawson*, left Montreal on April 24 for her delivery voyage to Sault Ste. Marie—the sister ship to last December's *R.J. Pearce*, both built by Conrad Shipyard. As traffic surges, environmental stewardship remains vital. Great Lakes Now's recent coverage of bird-banding initiatives and winter icebreaker operations underscores how human activity and ecosystem health move in parallel on these waters we all depend on.