St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation

#9 – August 14, 2002 – Closing of the 2002 Navigation Season

August 14, 2002

Welland Canal

The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (Manager) will carry out a number of major structural restoration projects in the Welland Canal during the 2002/2003 non-navigation season. Because of the volume of work, and in order not to delay the opening of the 2003 season, it is necessary that these projects start as early as possible.

Mariners are advised that the closing of the Welland Canal is scheduled to take place at 0800 hours on December 24. Transits beyond the closing date and time may be allowed depending on demand and operating conditions permitting, however written agreements will be required for transits after the closing date and time.

Closing Procedures, Montreal/Lake Ontario Section

Mariners are advised that demand and operating conditions permitting, the surcharges for December 21, 22 and 23 may be waived, however the surcharges will not be waived for December 24.

For the 2002 navigation season, the Seaway entities have agreed to apply the closing procedures outlined below. In these procedures, the following definitions are used:

a) the closing period: the period beginning December 1 and continuing until the last ship has completed its transit;

b) the clearance date: 2400 hours, December 20.

During the closing period, the following procedures will be in effect:

1. Reporting

1. Commencing at 0001 hours, December 1 and for the duration of the closing period, each upbound ship entering the Seaway at CIP 2 or departing upbound from a port, dock, wharf or anchorage in the Montreal/Lake Ontario Section must declare the furthermost destination of its voyage.
2. Commencing at 0001 hours, December 17 and for the duration of the closing period, each downbound ship entering traffic control Sector 4 at mid-Lake Ontario must declare the furthermost St. Lawrence River destination of its voyage, along with all intermediate destinations.

Regarding a) and b), each ship must advise the nearest traffic control centre of any changes in these destinations.

2. Upbound Ships with Destinations above Port Colborne

1. A ship which enters the Seaway System upbound at CIP 2 after 2400 hours on December 9 and transits above Port Colborne shall be designated a ‘wintering ship’.
2. A ‘wintering ship’ wishing to return downbound through the Montreal/Lake Ontario Section will be granted downbound transit privileges only if, in the opinion of the Manager and the Corporation, such transit can be accomplished safely and without interfering with the orderly and timely transit of any ship not designated as a ‘wintering ship‘ or without otherwise disrupting the system.
3. A ‘wintering ship’ wishing to return downbound through the Montreal/Lake Ontario Section must give notification of such intent to the Manager or Corporation at least 48 hours prior to arriving at CIP 16 (Port Colborne).
4. If a ‘wintering ship’ is granted downbound transit privileges through the Montreal/Lake Ontario Section, it will be subject to the following:
   1. A ‘wintering ship’ will yield, whenever required to do so by the Manager or the Corporation, its downbound order of turn at Port Colborne (CIP 16) and in the area from Cape Vincent to Prescott anchorage in favour of ships which are not designated as ‘wintering ship’.
   2. The application of sub-paragraph (i) above shall not excuse a ‘wintering ship’ from liability for the post-clearance-date operational surcharges as specified in the St. Lawrence Seaway Tariff of Tolls.
5. A ‘wintering ship’ will be required to accept and acknowledge that a downbound transit is not assured, and that the Manager and the Corporation make no representation whatsoever as to their ability to successfully transit the ship downbound through the Montreal/Lake Ontario Section.

3. Acceptance for Transit through the Montreal/Lake Ontario Section

1. Upbound ships not otherwise restricted will be accepted for transit through the Montreal/Lake Ontario Section at Cap St. Michel up to 2400 hours, December 20.
2. Downbound ships not otherwise restricted will be accepted for transit through the Montreal/Lake Ontario Section at calling-in point Cape Vincent up to 2400 hours, December 20.
3. Ships, which have complied with these clearance dates call-in procedures, will be cleared through the system, operating conditions permitting. ‘Operating conditions‘ means all conditions that affect or may affect the operation and maintenance of the Montreal/Lake Ontario Section of the Seaway as determined by the Seaway entities.
4. Ships which report at the designated call-in points at Cap St. Michel and Cape Vincent after 2400 hours, December 20, will be allowed to transit only if, in the judgement of both Seaway entities, operating conditions permit. Such transit will be subject to the provisions of Paragraph 4 below.
5. 1. Ships which are at a port, dock or wharf in the Cap St. Michel-Cape Vincent section of the Seaway and which report for transit after the clearance date will be allowed to transit only if, in the judgement of both Seaway entities, operating conditions permit.

      Such transits will be subject to the surcharges as outlined in Paragraph 4 below, with the exception that, for ships which are at a port, dock or wharf within the St. Lambert-Iroquois Lock segment, the application of the surcharges will commence after 2400 hours, December 21, i.e. $20,000 on December 22, $40,000 on December 23 and $60,000 on December 24.

   2. For ships included in the foregoing paragraph, the time and date that the ship reports to be ready in all respects to transit will be taken as the criteria for the establishment of the amount of surcharge.

6. In no event will any ship be accepted for transit through the Montreal/Lake Ontario Section of the Seaway after 2400 hours, December 24, unless it has reached a prior written agreement as to approval of such transit with both the Manager and the Corporation.

4. Post-Clearance-Date Transit

Ships which report at a designated call-in point after 2400 hours on December 20, and which are permitted by the entities to transit may be subject to the operational surcharge specified as follows:

For ships reporting on December 21 – $20,000
For ships reporting on December 22 – $40,000
For ships reporting on December 23 – $60,000
For ships reporting on December 24 – $80,000

It will be announced no later than December 15 whether or not, based upon operating conditions, ships will be subject to the aforementioned operational surcharges on December 21. Should the surcharge for this date not be applied, then at 24-hour intervals, similar reviews will be made for subsequent days, until such date as the applicable surcharge is to be applied. However, in no event will such a review be made after December 17.

In the event there is a postponement of the application of surcharges, the applicable daily amounts will be based on the ship’s call-in time at Cap St. Michel or Cape Vincent. Appendix 1 to this Notice provides the details on this.

Assessed operational surcharges will be prorated on a per Canadian lock basis, and will be for the account of the Manager and payable in Canadian funds.

Regardless of conditions, no ship will be accepted for either upbound or downbound post-clearance-date transit of the Montreal/Lake Ontario Section of the Seaway until it has furnished the applicable operational surcharge. In cases where it appears as if it may be necessary to request post-clearance-date transit, ships are urged to deposit security in the amount of $80,000 to cover the potential operational surcharge. Failure to have sufficient funds on deposit will cause delay, which could result in additional surcharge cost, or denial of transit, to ships unable to furnish the applicable operational surcharge immediately upon reaching the designated call-in point.

5. Transit Restrictions (Draft and Power to Length Ratio)

Unique ice conditions are encountered in the St. Lambert-Iroquois segment. To reduce the problem of lengthy delays caused by ships operating in ice, the following restrictions will apply during the closing period.

1. After 0001 hours on December 7, ships in the following categories will not be accepted for transit between St. Lambert and Iroquois Locks:

Upbound

i) Ships with a power to length ratio of less than 20:1 (kW/metre);

ii)Ships with a forward draft of less than 40 dm.

Downbound

i) Ships with a power to length ratio of less than 15:1 (kW/metre);

ii) Ships with a forward draft of less than 20 dm.

2. After 0001 hours on December 12, ships in the following categories will not be accepted for transit between St. Lambert and Iroquois Locks:

Upbound

i) Ships with a power to length ratio of less than 24:1 (kW/metre);

ii) Ships with a forward draft of less than 50 dm.

Downbound

i) ships with a power to length ratio of less than 15:1 (kW/metre);

ii) Ships with a forward draft of less than 25 dm.

3. In all cases, the draft is to be sufficient to have the propeller fully submerged.
4. The draft limitations referred to in a) and b) do not apply to tugs.
5. Subject to approval, ship operators may utilise a tug of a minimum of 3000 HP to augment the power of a ship not meeting the requirements as specified above. In calculating the ship’s power to length ratio, 50% of the tug’s horsepower can be added to the ship’s power.
6. For determining the power to length ratio, the information contained in the Lloyd’s Register will be used.
7. Ship operators should note that compliance with the above restrictions does not assure transit and that the Seaway entities may increase or decrease the restrictions as ice or other conditions dictate. These changes will be announced as early as practical, but in no case later than 24 hours before they go into effect.

APPENDIX I

CLOSING PROCEDURES FOR THE 2002 NAVIGATION SEASON

MONTREAL/LAKE ONTARIO SECTION

DETAILS REGARDING THE POSTPONEMENT OF OPERATIONAL SURCHARGES

1. Surcharge Deferred on December 21:

Schedule:

December 21 – no surcharge
December 22

• 0001 – 1200 hours – $20,000
• 1201 – 2400 hours – $40,000

December 23 – $60,000
December 24 – $80,000

2. Surcharge Deferred on December 21 and 22:

Schedule:

December 21 – no surcharge
December 22 – no surcharge
December 23

• 0001 – 0800 hours – $20,000
• 0801 – 1600 hours – $40,000
• 1601 – 2400 hours – $60,000

December 24 – $80,000

3. Primes reportées les 21, 22 et 23 décembre

Schedule:

December 21 – no surcharge
December 22 – no surcharge
December 23 – no surcharge
December 24

• 0001 – 0600 hours – $20,000
• 0601 – 1200 hours – $40,000
• 1201 – 1800 hours – $60,000
• 1801 – 2400 hours – $80,000