Soo locks shipping season opens today

The Soo Locks open today, signaling the start of the commercial shipping season. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the Poe Lock in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., at 12:01 a.m.

About a dozen Great Lakes freighters are already underway, heading either upbound from the lower Great Lakes or downbound off of Lake Superior, as they pass through the Soo toward their destinations.

The Soo Locks are the only passageways to navigate safely from Lake Superior through the St. Marys River, down to the lower Great Lakes for ships up to 1,000 feet long and 105 feet wide. Traditionally, more than 4,000 vessels, carrying up to 90 million tons of cargo, maneuver through these locks every year.

The Soo Locks Web cam keeps a watchful eye on the ships locking through at the Soo and is available from the Detroit District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers homepage at www.lre.usace.army.mil.

Tags: soo, locks, army, shipping, ship, ri er, water