High-water mark for seaway operation

Despite up-and-down economic indicators worldwide last year, the St. Lawrence Seaway's 53rd season turned in an honourable performance, including a 2.5-per-cent hike to 37.5 million tonnes of cargo transiting through the maritime lane.

The mild winter helped by allowing for a record 284 days of operation until Dec. 30, topping the previous record set in 2006 by one day.

In a telephone interview, Terence Bowles, president and CEO of the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., attributed much of the increase to an admittedly sketchy economic recovery in the U.S., as well as to new shipments of iron ore to China in the last two years.

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