The 2020 shipping season starts this week at the Port of Thunder Bay following the arrival of the Canadian Icebreaker Samuel Risley on Tuesday, March 24, the Lake Superior gateway reported in its just-released newsletter. Ice conditions are favorable compared with recent years.

Upon ice break-out, three vessels docked for the winter at Keefer Terminal will shift to grain elevators to load. Several more Canadian vessels are set to arrive in port later this week after the Soo Locks open as scheduled on March 25.

The opening of marine shipping to Thunder Bay Port elevators will help alleviate the largest winter carryover of grain in Canada since 2014. This year’s backlog is the result of a strong 2019 harvest and the impact of rail blockades throughout the country earlier this winter.

The Port had its strongest season in five years in 2019. Grain shipments accounted for nearly 8.0 million of the overall 9.3 million metric tonnes of cargo shipped from Thunder Bay last year. (Photo TBPA)