Dear Members,
The Federation attended the second Seaway Opening Call this morning. Following are the key takeaways:
Significant ice remains in various sections of the river and Seaway up to Cape Vincent, and vessels are requested to exercise caution during ice lockages. However, the CCG and pilots have advised that no issues are anticipated with icebreaking operations, and dispatchers will be on station Sunday morning.
Traffic management discussions addressed upbound and downbound priorities, with initial upbound preference due to positioning while subsequent management would depend on ice conditions. Seaway confirmed traffic list distribution for informational purposes only with potential first-day delays cascading to subsequent days. The next and 3rd Seaway opening call is scheduled for Sunday at 9:00 am and the invitation to join via zoom has been sent.
The Great Lakes Pilotage Authorities’ main office phone line is currently not operational (613-933-2991) due to their recent move to the Dev Centre.
In the meantime, please use the following temporary number to reach the GLPA office: 613-416-0733
To reach Eastern dispatch it’s extension 210
To reach Western dispatch it’s extension 211
The Seaway has issued MLO Notice No. 6 regarding speed restrictions in the Montreal / Lake Ontario section.
Lastly, as a reminder, please note that the Seaway is experiencing technical issues with an automatic broadcast system that they use when they post a Notice on their website. This should be resolved shortly.. The Seaway encourage users to consult its website regularly to ensure they have the most up-to-date information until the issue is resolved. In the meantime, the Federation will continue to relay Seaway Notices via its Operational Notices.
Sincerely,
Farah Ahmad
Coordinator, Operations