Lake Ontario Shipping News & Freighter Reports

Alouette Spirit sets course for Montreal while a cold front builds a deadline for boats still on Erie.

Ocean Traverse Nord's rare inland push puts the largest Eastern Canadian hopper dredge on a route most saltwater vessels never attempt.

Chris Izworski, reporting from Bay City for the Great Lakes Gazette, notes that the medium icebreaker CCGS Vincent Massey arrived at Ontario Shipyards in Hamilton on May 6 for her first major planned...

Chris Izworski, reporting from Bay City for the Great Lakes Gazette, notes that two foreign tankers are making their debut passages into the Great Lakes this week as the navigation season gains momentum. The...

The Welland Canal remains closed to all traffic in both directions following a significant incident Thursday afternoon at Port Colborne, Ontario. The saltwater vessel BBC Tokyo struck the Clarence Street...

The Welland Canal remains closed to all traffic in both directions at Port Colborne, Ontario, after the saltwater vessel BBC Tokyo struck Bridge 21 (Clarence Street Bridge) Thursday at noon while heading...

The Welland Canal officially opened for the 2026 navigation season Sunday morning with the traditional ceremony honoring the Master of the first vessel through. Captain Donald Kemp of Algoma Central...

The *Algoma Bear* made history this morning as the first merchant vessel to transit the St. Lawrence Seaway for the 2026 season, passing through the St. Lambert Lock today. The ceremonial Top Hat event, which...

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,...

HEADLINE DATELINE BRIEF The St. Lawrence Seaway is poised to welcome commercial traffic this weekend as ice-clearing operations begin in earnest. The Montreal-Lake Ontario section opens at 8 a.m. Sunday, and...