American Spirit Soo Locks Closure 2026

[Denny]

The American Spirit arrived in Toledo on January 21st for lay up at the CSX #2 Dock this afternoon with the assistance of the USCG icebreaking tug Neah Bay. Behind the American Spirit at CSX #2 Dock is the Edwin H. Gott. As the American Spirit arrived for lay up today, they backed into the CSX #2 Dock.

[Denny]

Per Marine Traffic’s website, the American Spirit arrived at Conneaut at 1308 hours on January 18 to unload or at 1:08 p.m. EST. Also, the Gott arrived in Toledo just before 4 P.M. on January 18 for lay up. From Marine Traffic’s AIS Map, it looks and appears the Gott is at the CSX #2 Dock Inner which means probably the American Spirit will go to Toledo for lay up after Conneaut and probably lay up at CSX #2 Dock ahead and in front of the Gott then. I hope that this information helps and is correct? Sorry if it is not correct.

[Bookworm]

She arrived (heavy weather on Lake Erie) in the Conneaut anchorage yesterday afternoon and is still there this morning (07:30).
Marine Traffic is showing Munson (arriving) and Gott (arriving late this afternoon) at Toledo.

[Guest]

Likely Toledo.

[Denny]

I would think either in Ashtabula or Toledo unless they end up in Erie! I was not expecting the American Integrity to lay up in Erie this Winter as I’ve seen them lay up in Ashtabula before per the lay up lists but not in Erie until this year and Winter. Last year and Winter, the American Spirit laid up in Toledo so we’ll see where they end up at this year. Toledo has one 1,000 footer there already for lay up the Paul R. Tregurtha and the Edwin H. Gott will be joining them in another day or two also for lay up. Hope this info helps out.

[Guest]

Where will American Spirit lay up?

[Guest]

Some nice photos of the American Spirit on today's (1-16-26) News Page closing the Soo Locks on 1-15-2026. I have to say that the American Spirit is looking pretty rough, especially the condition of the backside of the deckhouse that almost looks like it had a fire. I know paint does not make money by helping the ship carry more cargo, however, that is a myopic way of looking at the general maintenance of steel structure exposed to the elements. By not protecting the structure from further corrosion you are actually, in my opinion anyways, saving a little bit of money now only to have the added cost of steel replacement in the future. I wonder what other maintenance is being let go that is not visible from the outside. Perhaps this ship is nearing the end of its career and little effort is being put into it the prolong its operational life.

I experienced a similar situation when I was involved in manufacturing when the former chief financial officer took over the operation. One of the first things he did was eliminate all of the maintenance positions on the shop floor, including our preventive maintenance personnel, as unnecessary costs. Within a few months we were experiencing several machine breakdowns and lost time. This rate of downtime continued growing for a few years to the point that some of the machines became basically inoperable due to not getting the necessary servicing at the required intervals. This cost a lot of lost time and productivity, but in the end mattered little as the company was bought out by another firm a short time later that only wanted the product line and not the building, machinery, or employees. In thinking back about this some 15 years later, I often wonder if this was not the plan all along.