Shipping season coming to a close, lakers here for winter layup

Through a veil of sea smoke on Wednesday morning, the Lee A. Tregurtha sailed under the Aerial Lift Bridge. She’s the final laker to arrive for winter layup in the Twin Ports. Port leaders expect six or seven vessels to be here.

The Tregurtha had left last week with a load of iron ore from the CN docks.

On Tuesday, the Philip R. Clarke left with the final load of ore from the Twin Ports. Her destination was Cleveland.

The Soo Locks close at 11:59pm on Wednesday, signaling the end of the shipping season. The Army Corp of Engineers then performs critical maintenance on the locks, until they reopen on March 25th.

Even though final cargo totals are being tallied, the Duluth Seaway Port Authority weighed in on what’s happened so far.

“It’s a near-average season, with iron ore slightly down this year. But that’s down off a 28 year high last season. So down from a pretty good place,” Jayson Hron shared. He’s the Director of Communication and Marketing for the Port Authority.

But they had some good numbers elsewhere. Limestone and cement were up. And wind blades made a big impression.

“One of the major highlights this year was import export tonnage through the port. It was up 30% over last year through November. And that import tonnage was primarily the general cargo. So the high wide and heavy pieces, most visible of which were the wind cargo blades that came through here. They were the longest blades to ever move through this port,” Hron added.

Container shipping is also an area of growth.