Dave's Blog

shut the Seaway?

A U.S. official for the first time in memory suggests the St. Lawrence Seaway may be more trouble than it's worth --

WASHINGTON - The St. Lawrence Seaway is not receiving enough attention from border security officials in the United States and Canada, a national security analyst told representatives from both countries Monday...

At a conference sponsored by the U.S. and Canadian governments, analyst Stephen E. Flynn of the Council on Foreign Relations said the Seaway should be a higher priority because of the damage a terrorist attack could cause to the economy of the Midwest, which relies heavily on the Great Lakes for trade...

One participant suggested the cost of running and securing the Seaway may no longer be worth the risks, both of terrorism and invasive species such as zebra mussels. Citing "enormous costs," the U.S. State Department's director of the Office of Canadian Affairs, Terry A. Breese, said the countries may want to consider shutting the system to ocean vessels, which can carry invasive species in ballast tanks.

Mr. Breese cited the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers navigation study of the Great Lakes and added, "I think we need to question whether we want to have a Seaway anymore."