Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
Who is SLSDC?
The SLSDC is a wholly owned government corporation responsible for the operations and maintenance of the U.S. portion of the St. Lawrence Seaway between Montreal and Lake Erie. This includes maintaining and operating the two U.S. Seaway locks in Massena, NY, and performing vessel traffic control operations in areas of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario.
What does SLSDC do?
The SLSDC operates and maintains the U.S. infrastructure and waters of the St. Lawrence Seaway, while performing economic and trade development activities focused on economic enhancement for the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System. Its mission is to serve the marine transportation industry by providing a safe, secure, reliable, efficient, and competitive deep draft international waterway, in cooperation with Canada.
Safety Program
SLSDC Safety Goal
The SLSDC promotes navigation and workplace safety by reducing vessel incidents and employee injuries.
Enhanced Seaway Inspection (ESI) Program
Under ESI, the SLSDC inspects all ocean vessels on their initial transit into the St. Lawrence Seaway each navigation season. The inspections focus on safety and environmental protection issues.
Safety Through Technology
The SLSDC enhances vessel safety and traffic management by utilizing the Global Positioning System (GPS)-based Automatic Identification System (AIS) and Draft Information System (DIS) technologies and related systems. A new Hands-Free Mooring system will be operational at all Seaway locks by 2019.
Safety Resources/Tools
Safety Study
A 2014 report, Safety Profile of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, for the first time documents the safety framework and performance of marine transport across the bi-national Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway system.
Click to learn more about the Safety Profile of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System report:
System-wide Safety Practices
The SLSDC promotes Seaway System safety through traffic control procedures, binational rules and regulations for Seaway transit accepted in both U.S. and Canadian waters, vessel speed surveillance, deployment of fixed and floating navigation aids, operation of weather and visibility stations, water level and flow-rate monitoring, and emergency response capabilities.
Safety Management
The SLSDC implements a modernized Safety Management System (SMS) to preserve, promote, and protect the safety and wellbeing of the Seaway infrastructure and the SLSDC workforce with 21st century techniques.