MONTREAL – The St. Lawrence Seaway’s 55th navigation season began Friday with the transit of Canada Steamship Lines’ newly built Baie St. Paul through the St. Lambert Lock.
It marks the first of a series of new vessels being constructed specifically for use in the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Baie St. Paul ushers in a new era in domestic shipping.
“It’s the most technologically advanced ship in the Great Lakes right now,” said Louis Martel the President of Canada Steamship Lines (CSL).
The ship is 740 feet long and 78 feet tall, and Martel explained that it is 15 per cent more fuel efficient than CSL’s previous class of ships.
It will save approximately 750 tonnes of fuel per year, amounting to a yearly carbon emission reduction of 2,400 tonnes.
The season kicked off on an optimistic note.
The head of the St. Lawrence Seaway expects a good year.
“Seaway tonnage is forecast to exceed a total of 40 million tonnes for the year,” explained St. Lawrence Seaway CEO Terrance Bowles.
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