Great Lakes marine traffic starts to stir this weekend

With the Soo Locks scheduled to open next week, cargo vessels will be starting to move this weekend.

The Sault, Michigan locks officially open on Tuesday.

The U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Mackinaw, which locked through the Soo upbound last weekend, was in Duluth (shown in a file photo) today opening that harbour after a particularly harsh winter.

The Duluth News Tribune is reporting that wintering vessels due to leave the Twin Ports this weekend include the Edgar B. Speer, Roger Blough and the Edwin H. Gott.

The first vessels to leave Duluth will follow the Mackinaw to Two Harbors., where they'll load up with taconite pellets and then follow the Mackinaw to Gary, Indiana.

"Early-season vessel traffic is expected to face severe ice conditions, with areas measuring over 28 inches thick reported in several locations throughout the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River system," Boatnerd.com reported today.

The website (SooToday's favourite source for shipping news) indicates that the Edgar B. Speer, the Roger Blough and the Edwin H. Gott will leave in that order on Sunday, and the Presque Isle will depart on Sunday.

"On March 24 [Monday] the Mackinaw will lead a convoy of the four vessels to the Soo Locks, then on to Gary," Boatnerd says.