Hong Kong-flagged ship arrives first in Twin Ports

The Port of Duluth-Superior’s 2008 St. Lawrence Seaway navigation season opens officially today with the arrival of the Hong Kong-flagged Gadwall under the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge around 1 p.m. A first ship ceremony begins at 10 a.m. Friday at the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.

The Gadwall heads to Superior’s Cenex Harvest States grain facility to load approximately 23,000 short tons of wheat destined for Portugal. Commanded by Capt. Xinqiang Cai, the new 607-foot bulk carrier was built in 2007 in China and is operated by Canfornav Ltd., headquartered in Montreal. The Gadwall had discharged a cargo from Chile at Montreal prior to coming to the Twin Ports. Local agent for the vessel is Guthrie-Hubner, Inc.

The Welland Canal section of the St. Lawrence Seaway opened to vessel traffic this year on March 20, marking the second year in a row that the season got off to its earliest start. This year, the Montreal-Lake Ontario section of the Seaway opened March 21.

The Port’s earliest arrival of an oceangoing vessel was April 1, 1995.

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