New Seaway chief visits Massena to unveil new tug

May 24, 2023 —

The new chief of the U.S. side of the St. Lawrence Seaway visited Massena Wednesday. The Seaway employs about 120 people in Massena to operate the channel and two locks that allow international freighters access to the Great Lakes.

The administrator unveiled a new $7 million tugboat that will help maintain the locks, especially in icy conditions. Officials hope its launch goes better than the last new Seaway vessel.

It was a rainy day, so Seaway administrator Adam Tindell-Schlicht held a big umbrella and welcomed journalists onto the deck of the Seaway's new tugboat, the Seaway Trident.

Up the dock, a giant freighter had just squeezed through the Eisenhower lock, just inches from the lock wall on either side.

"With so much vessel traffic," Tindall-Schlicht said, "having a dedicated crew of expert mariners here based in the North Country that know how to operate the Seaway Trident and our other fleet of vessels really is essential to make sure that we can keep doing what we do and do what we love."

More than 4,000 vessels sailed through the Seaway last year, but overall tonnage was down 5%.

As the new head of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, appointed last November, Tindall-Schlicht will be in charge of getting that number back up. He was recently at a global trade conference in Munich with Great Lakes port directors to drum up business. "Unwrapping and unleashing what is a lot of potential still for our system," he said.

"I believe that the Great Lakes Seaway system is a necessary and critical relief valve, especially in times of supply chain duress around the world. Tindall-Schlicht says these locks in Massena could handle double the traffic, if it comes.

The Trident just arrived two weeks ago. Captain Paul Braden guided me up the stairs to the wheelhouse, where it literally still had that "new tugboat smell".

One of the Trident's new features is it has blades that can shave ice off the lock walls at the frigid beginning and ends of the Seaway season in March and December. "Basically the temperature drops below zero and anytime you raise or lower the water, you’ll have ice forming on the lock walls," Braden explained.

The Seaway is hoping the Trident has better luck than its other new vessel, the $24 million Seaway Guardian tugboat and icebreaker. It was supposed to replace the 64 year-old Robinson Bay, but as reported by Shipwatcher Michael Folsom, it had issues last December and had to be grounded.

Tindall-Schlicht said Wednesday bids were out to do the repairs. The Seaway hopes to have the Guardian back out on the water late this year or early next.