The shipping season is at an end for Lake Superior. The extreme cold has ground traffic to a crawl throughout the Great Lakes. Duluth Seaway Port Authority Facilities Manager Jim Sharrow says there is heavy ice in the north ends of Lakes Michigan and Huron and the Straits of Mackinaw and in the St. Mary's River that has significantly slowed the passage of a couple thousand-foot ships that have been trying to get up here for winter layup.
Sharrow says the Coast Guard Cutter Alder is busy maintaining the channel, and the tugs have been out breaking out the actual docks ever since mid-December. He says if the weather stays this cold al winter, they'll have tough conditions in the spring. Sharrow says the Edgar B. Speer and Edwin H. Gott are making their last trek on the lake. As of Wednesday, they had spent about two days trying to get about 70 miles through this ice between Lansing Shoal and the south end of the St. Mary's River.
Ships travel 400 miles a day in ideal conditions.
