Table 4 U.S. Seaway System Downtime/Availability in Hours
Table 4
U.S. Seaway System Downtime/Availability in Hours
| Cause of delay | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 5-year average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather, poor visibility | 36.8 | 39.3 | 32.5 | 15.2 | 16.3 | 28.0 |
| Weather, high wind/ice | 4.3 | 18.3 | 11.3 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 7.7 |
| Water levels/flows | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Vessel incident | 16.9 | 15.9 | 15.0 | 12.1 | 34.5 | 18.9 |
| Civil interference | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| Pilotage | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Lock equipment malfunction | 3.1 | 0.0 | 6.2 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.9 |
| Other | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.3 | 1.3 |
| Total delay (hours) | 63.1 | 73.5 | 66.0 | 35.0 | 62.4 | 60.0 |
| Equivalent days | 2.6 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 2.5 |
| Duration of season (days) | 276 | 273 | 281 | 280 | 283 | 279 |
| Percent of U.S. System availability | 99.1% | 98.9% | 99.0% | 99.5% | 99.1% | 99.1% |
SOURCE: St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. Lock Operations Records
- Since opening in 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway has enjoyed a high reliability rate in serving its commercial customers. The SLSDC maintains an annual reliability performance target of 99% for the U.S. sector of the Seaway, including the two U.S. locks in Massena, NY. During the 2006 navigation season, the SLSDC met its target with a reliability rate of 99.1%.
- Of those delay elements that affect system availability, the SLSDC is most responsible for lock equipment malfunction. In 2006, lock equipment-related delays totaled 2.5 hours, representing four one-hundredths of 1% of the entire navigation season.