SAINT-LAMBERT, Que. – The Canada Steamship Lines freighter, Baie St. Paul, went through the St. Lambert Lock this morning (Monday) to kick off the 63rd season of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
It was the same ship that went through the lock at Montreal last year.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was a virtual ceremony with Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Alghabra called the seaway a “cornerstone of Canada’s economic success for more than 60 years.”
It officially opened at 8 a.m. Monday.
CEO Terence Bowles says the seaway’s “consistently high level of system availability contributes to a robust, competitive Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway transportation route.”
Roughly 38 million metric tons of cargo was shipped through the St. Lawrence Seaway last year – about the same as it did in 2019.