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1,000-foot freighter kicks off 2019 navigation season at Soo Locks

Posted at 10:31 AM, Mar 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-25 10:31:44-04

(WXYZ) — The Soo Locks officially opened at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, and a massive freighter kicked off the 2019 navigation season by going through the locks.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers posted photos of the 1,000-foot Stewart J. Cort freighter going through the locks, arriving just in time for midnight. According to the group, she also kicked off the 2017 shipping season.

According to the Interlake Steamship Company, the Stewart J. Cort was also the first 1,000-foot vessel on the Great Lakes when she started service in 1972. It carrys 58,000 gross tons and has 14,400 horsepower, according to the company.

As of 10:30 a.m. on Monday, the ship was just off of Whitefish Point in the Upper Peninsula. You can track it here. It started in Sault Ste. Marie in Canada and is heading to Duluth, Minn.