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« on: March 10, 2013, 07:33:36 PM »
The St. Lawrence Seaway Authority needs the 3-month winter break for lock maintenance and repair. I was told this some years ago by a Seaway official.
At that time January & February were particularly freezing cold (not as much today) and there was no way the locks could be kept in operation. Ships would have needed icebreaker assistance throughout the system as there is very little current in the canals to keep the ice on the move.
This was proven in the 1970s and 1980s when ice started forming early in December and ships were caught in ice jams. I photographed many ships there during this period and it was quite hectic as light icebreakers and tugs worked frantically to free these vessels before the Seaway closed for the season at the end of December.
Some even had to spend the winter months in lake ports as they could not clear the system in time.
Nowadays with milder temps, maybe plans could be drawn up to allow the Seaway to remain in operation 12 months a year. For one thing, the opening of the Seaway in 2013 is about a week earlier than it was 10 years ago.