GLIN==> Last ship passes through Soo Locks for shipping season (image attached)

["List Manager" <adminpst@great-lakes.net>]

Submitted by Cassandra Kardeke <cassandra.a.kardeke@usace.army.mil>

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MV Saginaw last ship to pass through Soo Locks for the shipping season

DETROIT — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, announced 
today that the Motor Vessel Saginaw was the last ship to traverse the world 
famous Soo Locks in Sault Ste.
Marie, Mich., on Thursday, marking the lock’s closure and the end of the Soo 
Lock’s shipping season.

The Corps, which has operated and maintained the locks as part of its 
navigation mission since 1881, recorded that the 639-foot MV Saginaw cleared 
the down-bound locks Thursday at
9:47 a.m. The 1,004-foot MV Edwin H. Gott was the last vessel to traverse 
the up-bound locks Wednesday at 3:32 p.m.

In 2008, 8,461 vessels passed through the Soo Locks, carrying 80.6 million 
tons of cargo. The Poe Lock, one of the Soo’s two operational locks, will 
undergo inspection and maintenance of hydraulic, electrical, structural and 
other key equipment during the closure.

The second operational lock at the Soo, the MacArthur Lock, closed Dec. 15. 
The MacArthur Lock is undergoing a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-mandated 
regular inspection, which is held every five years. During the shutdown, the 
MacArthur has been drained and is undergoing a thorough inspection of all 
components as part of the 5-year periodic inspection. All the work will be 
done by 60 Corps employees, many of whom normally would be subject to a 
layoff.

The Poe Lock will reopen March 25, its normal reopening date, while the 
MacArthur Lock is expected to open later in April.

For additional information or questions on the Soo Locks, please call the 
Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District Public Affairs Officer, Lynn 
Duerod, at (313) 226-4680.

Attachment: SAGINAWFinalShip2008.jpg
Description: JPEG image