Inside look at the Operations Center that runs the Welland Canal (photo)
August 20, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
By COREY LAROCQUE | Source: Niagara Falls Review
When massive lakers like the Robert S. Pierson and Canada Steamship Lines Laurentien are cruising through the Welland Canal, it takes more than a mile for them to stop.
It’s one of the reasons the Allanburg lift bridge over the canal stays up longer than the Glendale bridge. Vessels move faster in that straightaway stretch than they do on other sections of the canal that connects lakes Erie and Ontario.
It means the Allanburg bridge has to be up longer, because a ship would need more time to stop if there were a problem, says John Chalmers, operations support coordinator for St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp.
…Not only do controllers manage the movement of ships and lift bridges on the canal, they’re responsible for security, using a network of closed-circuit cameras along seaway property.
The operations centre is also the canal’s emergency response centre in the event of a fire or other emergency aboard a ship. And one controller is responsible for deploying the seaway company’s employees where they need to be.
…”What we’re striving for, as a corporation, is to get ships through in 12.5 hours or less 90 per cent of the time,” said Chalmers.
Ship captains can count on getting through the Welland Canal in that period of time about 84 per cent of the time. On average, it takes 11 hours for a ship to travel through the canal.
