SAULT STE. MARIE — The Soo Locks were set to close at midnight Wednesday, bringing the curtain down on the Great Lakes shipping season.
The locks close at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday night and will remain closed until to 12:01 a.m. March 25, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in a release.
The lock system currently has two operational locks, though only the larger Poe Lock has been operation the past few weeks. The smaller MacArthur Lock closed in late 2024.
As Great Lakes freighters made their final treks toward the locks on their way to their winter ports, at least some crew members had a little fun with the Automatic Identification System, ship-watching Facebook pages noted this week.
The Philip R. Clarke crew had some fun with their Automated Identification System, inputting “Are We There Yet” on their downbound trip to end the Great Lakes shipping season, as seen in this screenshot from maritimetraffic.com.
The Soo Locks Visitors Center Association shared an image from a ship tracking site showing the position of the Stewart J Cort with the destination as “Cape Cod of the Midwest.” Other images posted on the page showed the Kaye E Barker heading for “Erie – We hope.”
The Edgar B Speer crew was, perhaps, looking forward to a cold drink as it reported it was heading to “Steamies Bar.”
Wednesday afternoon, the Philip R. Clarke was nearing the locks with a destination of “Are We There Yet.”
As of about 4 p.m. Wednesday, there were fewer than a half dozen ships still trekking toward the locks on downbound courses, according to maritimetraffic. Among those still on Lake Superior, one was upbound to Duluth, Minnesota, while downbound ships were heading to Conneaut, Ohio, Buffalo, New York, and Sault Ste. Marie.
What are the ‘Soo’ Locks?
The locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, consist of two canals and four locks that allow vessels of many types/sizes to traverse the 21-foot drop in elevation of the St. Marys River between Lake Superior, and lakes Michigan and Huron.
Upbound ships enter the locks from lower end and massive doors are closed. Water flows in through pipes from the Lake Superior side to fill the locks and raise ships to the lake level. Ships heading toward Lake Huron enter from Lake Superior and, once the doors are closed, water drains out through pipes and drops the ship to the lower lake level.
From viewing decks alongside the locks, you can watch “lakers” and “salties” (ocean-going vessels) as they travel the seaway between ports and navigate the rise/drop of the water levels.
How many locks are at the Soo?
Most ships utilize the Poe Lock, which was rebuilt in 1968 to accommodate larger and more modern ships.
The MacArthur Lock, which is closest to Sault Ste. Marie, is also still in operation and was named after General Douglas MacArthur.
The Davis and Sabin Locks were built in 1914 and 1919 respectively, but currently, only the Poe and MacArthur Locks are operational.
Construction of a new Soo Lock is currently underway, which will be the same size as the Poe Lock.
What will the Army Corps do at the locks while they are closed?
The team will install a temporary panel bridge across the Poe Lock to provide the ability to mobilize materials and equipment to the job sites throughout the winter closure.
Crews will fabricate and replace anchorages on gate 3, commission the temporary dewatering system, fill in nonoperational ship arrestor recess on the downstream end, flush and clean the hydraulic systems for the rehabilitated ship arrestor systems, navigation button rehabilitation, remove underground storage tanks and repair the winter work bridge recesses.
In addition, crews also will perform a wide range of other maintenance tasks from replacement of pier fender timbers to inspections and preventative maintenance on electrical and mechanical systems on both the Poe and MacArthur Locks.
Contractors will be working on the Poe Lock upstream stop log recess repairs. They will complete a full rehabilitation and repair of the upstream stop log recesses including removal of unsound concrete, repairs, installation of new concrete, steel corner protection and steel wall armor section.
How big are the locks?
The MacArthur Locks is 800 feet long, 80 feet wide and 31 feet deep.
The Poe Lock is 1,200 feet by 100 feet by 32 feet. The unused Davis and Sabin locks are 1,350 feet by 80 feet by 23.1 feet.
How big are the ships that use the locks?
There are 13 1,000-footers on the Great Lakes. The largest ship that passes through the Soo Locks is the Paul R. Tregurtha at 1,013 feet, 6 inches, which is larger than three football fields.
How many ships use the locks each year?
More than 4,500 vessels, carrying up to 80 million tons of cargo, maneuver through the Soo Locks annually. Iron ore, coal, wheat and limestone are the most frequently carried commodities, the Army Corps of Engineers said.
The MacArthur Lock has seen 2,806 lockages and 5,170 passages (number of vessels) since opening April 24, 2024, to, Dec. 12, 2024.
When do the locks reopen for the 2025 Great Lakes shipping season?
Both locks will reopen on March 25, 2025, for spring shipping.
Where can I watch Great Lakes shipping traffic?
Marinetraffic.com maintains a real-time map of all international shipping and includes the ability to click on Great Lakes ships to see their names, destinations, speeds and more.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Soo Locks 2024-25 shipping season ends on Jan. 15