Thousand-Foot Freighter Is Last Ship Through Soo Locks as It Closes for Winter

Thousand-foot freighter is last ship through Soo Locks as it closes for winter

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI - The last freighter to make it through the Soo Locks before the huge system closed Thursday night for its annual winter maintenance was a 1,004-foot ship that has been a Great Lakes workhorse for nearly a half a century.The American Spirit, loaded with iron ore pellets, had departed Two Harbors, Minnesota at sunrise Wednesday and motored across Lake Superior to reach the Soo Locks early Thursday evening. After locking throu…

Soo Locks to close Thursday for annual maintenance

The Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie will close to all shipping traffic on Thursday night for the next two months for annual seasonal maintenance.Under federal regulations, the Great Lakes shipping season operates from mid-to-late March through mid-January, and the operating season also depends on the feasibility of vessels operating during typical Great Lakes ice conditions.Watch below: M/V Herbert C. Jackson makes final icy transit through Soo Lo…