DULUTH — A maritime labor strike in Canada means oceangoing ships using the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system can't leave or enter the artery that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the westernmost Lake Superior port in Duluth and Superior, Wis.
Unionized workers of the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. went on strike Sunday, shutting down Canadian portions of the system of canals and locks through Ontario, New York and Quebec. And that affects inland port operations.
"This interruption of seaway operation has immediate and longer-term consequences for Great Lakes ports, the entire seaway system and countries around the world hungry for our exports, especially now, during peak grain harvest season," Deb DeLuca, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, said in a news release.
A vessel loading wheat in Duluth on Monday is scheduled to deliver it to Algeria, with several more ships slated to arrive and collect wheat shipments in the coming weeks. Imports of manufacturing equipment were also expected soon.
The Port of Duluth-Superior just endured a tough year for grain exports. In 2022, it tallied only 644,000 tons of grain loaded onto boats, the lowest amount since 1889.
Iron ore comprises more than half the tonnage leaving the Duluth port, and most Great Lakes freighters aren't affected by the closure. But grain — including wheat, canola, flax and sugar beet pulp pellets — has historically been the port's largest international export.
More than 100 vessels outside of the seaway system are affected by the strike, according to Reuters. Multiple oceangoing ships remain on the Great Lakes, but it's unclear how many, the Port Authority's Jayson Hron said.
The Port Authority said this is the first strike-related mid-season closure of the seaway since 1968. Seaway officials estimate every day of the shutdown will cost the shared United States and Canadian economy $50 million to $80 million.
The nonprofit St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. is responsible for the movement of marine traffic through the Canadian seaway facilities, which consists of 13 of the 15 locks between Montreal and Lake Erie.
