Federal mediator calls for new talks in bid to end St. Lawrence Seaway strike
The strike by Canadian workers that closed the St. Lawrence Seaway is costing U.S. jobs at Great Lakes ports and manufacturers as ships are stranded and cargo is diverted to the East Coast, U.S. industry officials say. The 350 Unifor workers walked off the job on Sunday after talks broke down with the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., which operates 13 of the 15 Seaway locks between Montreal and Lake Erie.
Negotiations on a collective agreement are scheduled to resume on Friday after a federal mediator on Tuesday afternoon called the sides back to the bargaining table. But the shutdown of the Seaway has already exacted a price from the Canadian and U.S. vessel owners, dock workers, and the manufacturers and producers that rely on the waterway.
The strike has closed the locks in and around Montreal and on the Welland Canal, which links Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Inbound shipments of steel and iron ore are halted, as are exports of metals and grain, and the delivery of road salt ahead of the seasonal shutdown of Seaway shipping in late December.
Steve Fisher, executive director of the American Great Lakes Ports Association, said the shutdown of the Welland Canal is affecting U.S. ports in the Upper Great Lakes.
The strike has prevented the arrival of Canadian ships that move U.S. grain and other goods through the canal to ports in Quebec, where they are transloaded onto ocean-going vessels destined for Europe and Africa, he said. Additionally, inbound ships are prevented from reaching U.S. ports in the western part of the Great Lakes – including in Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland – with cargoes of steel from Europe intended for U.S. makers of car parts, appliances and canned food. Mr. Fisher said it is an “outrage” the two sides have not met for two days.
“The Canadian government owns the Seaway and we want the government to work with both sides to try to help them resolve this conflict,” Mr. Fisher said from Washington. “People are literally losing their jobs. Companies are losing millions of dollars a day as this Seaway strike continues.”
Gregg Ruhl, chief executive officer of Algoma Central Corp., the largest Canadian vessel fleet on the Great Lakes, said the contract talks should resume sooner than Friday.” Where’s the sense of urgency? What’s wrong with Wednesday and Thursday? Or tonight?” Mr. Ruhl said on Tuesday. “Meanwhile the raw materials that fuel industry, the grain that feeds the world, the salt that will keep our roads safe this winter, the aggregates to support construction, and the gasoline to fuel our vehicles are all stalled.”
Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan told reporters on Tuesday he has had “extensive” talks with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and others, and is urging the employer and union to hammer out a deal to limit the impact of the strike. “You’re talking about hundreds of communities that feed into the Great Lakes [and] trade that goes ultimately not just in other parts of Canada but also to the U.S., Europe and Africa,” Mr. O’Regan said in Ottawa.
The strike has marooned, among others, a grain ship in Duluth, Minn., destined for Europe, a U.S. Navy combat boat in Cleveland, and a French cruise ship in Toronto.
U.S. manufacturers are already talking to their shipping lines about diverting deliveries of steel to ports on the U.S. East Coast. This will mean less work for U.S. stevedores, truck drivers and others who rely on the ports for their livelihoods, while giving a lift to Atlantic Coast terminals, Mr. Fisher said. “They get more jobs and we get less jobs,” he said.
The strike comes at a critical time for the companies that trade on the waterway that links the heartland of North America with overseas markets. Before the strike, steel plants were stockpiling ship-borne ore and other raw materials ahead of the winter shutdown, and grain companies were busy loading bulk vessels with the recent harvest of canola, wheat and other grains for food makers in Europe and Africa.
“As the navigation season has a finite shipping period and is a critical aspect of our business, we are watching the situation closely and trust a swift resolution will be reached,” said Marie Verdun, a spokeswoman for ArcelorMittal Dofasco, which runs a steel plant in Hamilton on Lake Ontario.
Industry members on both sides of the Seaway said the shutdown has severed a key trade route and damaged Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner. Also at risk, said Aaron Bensinger, vice-president of operations at vessel agent Central Marine Logistics, is the cruise ship business on the Great Lakes, which is only just returning after the pandemic shutdown.
“It’s things like this that will scare those [cruise vessel] operators off eventually,” he said from Griffith, Ind., on the southern tip of Lake Michigan. “They need to know that they can get their ships in and out of the lakes without getting their ships stuck in jail, in a sense.”
Eric Peace is vice-president of the Lake Carriers’ Association, which represents the owners of the 46 U.S.-flagged ships that trade on the Upper Great Lakes. These vessels do not sail past Lake Erie because they are too big for the Welland Canal. However, Mr. Peace said when the strike is over a flood of ships will cause logjams at the Soo Locks that connect Lake Huron and Lake Superior. This will slow traffic as vessels and shippers try to complete deliveries and stockpile ore and other raw materials ahead of the Jan. 15 winter shutdown of the U.S.-managed Soo Locks.
“We’re all competing for the same locks and we’re all competing for the same docks,” Mr. Peace said from Cleveland.
Globe & Mail
Keewatin Tow Today
The Keewatin will be departing Hamilton on Wednesday, October 25th early morning and arriving in Kingston on Thursday, October 26th midday. The ship passed its delayed inspection by Transport Canada on Monda.
To help you prepare, please take note of the following information:
– TORONTO: the ship will visit Toronto Harbour (between islands and harbourfront) likely between 10:30am and 12pm (noon) on Wednesday October 25th. It will pass inbound and outbound by Gibraltar Point (see map in comments)
– ROUTE: A sail-by Toronto, the ship will travel in open water in sight of land, until she comes into Kingston’s harbour and eventually arriving at the Kingston Dry Dock. We encourage you to track her final voyage via Marine Traffic (https://www.marinetraffic.com/). Search for lead tugboat Molly M1. Do not search Keewatin – she isn’t listed.
– KINGSTON: more to come on exact arrival time in Kingston. The ship will arrive from the south of Amherst Island. Anticipated arrival is 30 hours from when she leaves (best guess between 10am and 1pm on Thursday).
Please note that everything is still weather dependent. Even with forecasts predicted, we all know that conditions can shift. We are in regular communication with the tugboat captain to ensure the safest journey for this historic ship.
P.S. please feel free to share your pictures/videos of the ship on social media using #KeewatinWatch and/or tagging the Museum, @marinemuseumkingston
SS Keewatin
Isle Royale’s Ranger III arrives at Fraser
The passenger vessel Ranger III arrived in Duluth Tuesday afternoon and headed to Fraser Shipyard, possibly for its periodic inspection/reconditioning. Ranger III serves the National Park Service and carries passengers from Houghton, Michigan to Windigo or Rock Harbor on Isle Royale.
David Schauer
“Get back to the table,”official tells Seaway and union
Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan took to social media to tell the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) and Unifor they need to resume bargaining. O’Regan posted on X, saying he had taken calls with both sides, and they need to resume talks. Over 350 Unifor workers are on strike at the seaway, shutting down the waterway to commercial traffic since October 22.
Business groups also weighed in on the labour action. Dennis Darby, president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters said: “This labour dispute will have a major impact on our businesses. This is another interruption at the heart of the supply chain, and manufacturers are once again being held hostage.”
The seaway is a key economic artery for Quebec, Ontario and Eastern Canada. In 2022, about 36.3 million metric tons of cargo valued at $16.7 billion passed through the St. Lawrence Seaway’s infrastructure, generating a total of nearly $6 billion in economic activity and supporting over 42,000 jobs in Canada.
CME has been urging the federal government to address the increasingly frequent supply chain disruptions in order to preserve Canada’s competitiveness and global reputation, as well as provide much needed stability to Canadian manufacturers.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said small businesses were seriously affected by the long strike at BC ports and the supply chain disruptions it caused this summer. “The last thing the Canadian economy needs right now is another strike blocking a busy trade route and impacting businesses once again,” the advocacy group said in a statement.
CFIB is asking the government to ensure that the St. Lawrence Seaway remains fully operational while negotiations continue. It also continues to call for federally regulated workers who are indispensable to the supply chain to be deemed essential workers to avoid similar strikes in the future.
Inside Logistics
Seaside LNG Takes Delivery of Barge Clean Everglades
Executives from Seaside LNG, Polaris New Energy and their guests gathered at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding today to christen the recently constructed LNG bunker barge Clean Everglades. Seaside LNG has the largest fleet of Jones Act-compliant LNG barges operating in the United States.
Seaside LNG takes delivery of new LNG barge Clean Everglades from Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (Photo: Business Wire)
Seaside LNG contracted Fincantieri to build the Clean Everglades, an articulated tug barge that holds 5,500 cubic meters of LNG. The vessel is similar in design and appearance to its sister ship, the LNG barge Clean Canaveral, which was delivered by Fincantieri two years ago and has made more than 65 successful LNG bunker deliveries.
“Polaris New Energy is excited to continue to expand the LNG bunkering infrastructure in the United States,” said Tim Casey CEO of Seaside LNG. “The delivery of the Clean Everglades gives us the ability to expand our LNG bunkering business to the Gulf of Mexico. Partnering with the talented and professional staff at Fincantieri has produced a second exceptional vessel.”
Demand for LNG to fuel the maritime sector is growing rapidly with orders for LNG vessels eclipsing 30% of the fleet orderbook. LNG is the leading solution in the maritime sector as the industry advances its sustainability goals to meet growing emissions reductions goals.
“The previous Fincantieri-built LNG barge was delivered on schedule during the global pandemic, which was quite an accomplishment,” said Jan Allman, Fincantieri Vice President and General Manager. “We are ready to deliver the Clean Everglades six weeks ahead of schedule, thanks in part to a clean, brilliant design and the motivated, experienced shipbuilders here at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding.”
The 5,500 cubic meter ATB is fitted with four 1,375 CBM IMO Type C tanks. It will utilize a cargo handling system designed and developed by Wartsila. The vessel is 340’ overall length, 66’ beam, and 32’-10” deep. The ATB is also an Oceans Classed ABS barge.
Houston Business Wire
Freighters in the Fox River: GLC Minerals might be the destination at the Port of Green Bay
GREEN BAY, WI – A company in northeast Wisconsin with roots going back more than 150 years is located in Green Bay because of a natural resource: Water. “The [Port of Green Bay] is why we’re here,” said Holly Bellmund, president and chief operating officer of GLC Minerals.
GLC Minerals and the companies that preceded it have been in Green Bay since 1871, Bellmund said. “Green Bay is a historic port, the company started by bringing goods to build the city from Buffalo by sailing vessel in the 1800s,” Bellmund said.
While much has changed since then, the company’s reliance on the Bay remains. Freighters bring minerals from around the Great Lakes to the company”… [W]e bring in over 400,000 tons a year…” said Ken Przybyla, vice president of operations at GLC Minerals.
Their raw materials come from quarries in the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan, as well as one in Canada. The minerals are then ground up and sometimes mixed, then hauled away by truck or train. The company’s products include calcium carbonate that can be fed to animals, for example.
GLC Minerals serves the agriculture, industrial, glass, environmental, and agronomy (think soil health) industries, according to the company. Fifty employees work at the company, including, in some cases, multiple generations from the same family, Bellmund said.
NBC 26
View a video and images here: https://www.nbc26.com/news/local-news/freighters-in-the-fox-river-glc-minerals-might-be-the-destination-at-the-port-of-green-bay?fbclid=IwAR2I6ytWX9d2F1NrwJenlFPdSouons1RR8J4svypN9VHdw7Vsx-BKupJkN0
