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Subject: Welland Canal Opens This Week

From: John
Date: 3/21/2005 09:53

Perhaps Spring really is just around the corner?

From the Buffalo News:

Welland Canal opening this week

'Top Hat' ritual marks waterway's 176th year

By MATT GLYNN
News Business Reporter
3/21/2005

Another sure sign of spring has arrived: the start of the Welland Canal's navigation season.
The 176th opening of the Welland Canal is set for Wednesday with the annual "Top Hat" ceremony, 10 a.m. at the Welland Canals Centre, Lock 3, in St. Catharines, Ont. The captain of the first upbound vessel to enter Lock 3 will be presented with the top hat, a tradition dating to 1947.

The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., which operates the canal, often knows days in advance which vessel will be first, but as of Friday, it did not have confirmation of which ship would receive the honor.

The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp.'s president and chief executive officer, Richard Corfe, is scheduled to make an announcement at the ceremony that will have "long-term positive effects on the competitiveness of marine transportation." The SLSMC did not offer details.

The 27-mile waterway connects Lake Erie with Lake Ontario and the rest of the St. Lawrence Seaway. By nearly all of the SLSMC's measures, the canal's 2004 season, which officially ended Dec. 31, was an upbeat one.

Total transits on the waterway increased 5 percent, to 3,185, according to the SLSMC. A transit is recorded when a vessel passes through anywhere from one lock to all of the locks of the canal.

Total cargo shipments through the canal increased 7.6 percent in 2004, the SLSMC said. Shipments of iron ore, coal, other bulk, and general cargo each increased. Grain shipments declined.

The rest of the St. Lawrence Seaway is scheduled to open on Friday.

e-mail: mglynn@buffnews.com

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