More than a sign of confidence, this signals a steadfast commitment to the marketplace. Significant investment has also been made in the partnership between the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation in Canada and the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation in the U.S. to create a system that offers a more seamless experience for users. This renewed binational partnership, coupled with a more commercial focus, has led to newly realized efficiencies on both sides of the border, providing shippers the benefit by keeping toll increases to a minimum. On the high-tech side, the Seaway is developing a virtual waterway management system that will further advance binational cooperation. In order to take full advantage of new technology, government leaders will have to step in to provide stronger direction to encourage Pilots and the Coast Guard to use this same technology for both cost reduction and safety applications.
Water is the safest, cheapest and cleanest transportation mode.
A ship loaded with one metric ton of goods sails farther and causes less air pollution on one gallon of fuel than an airplane with the same tonnage flies, or a truck drives, or a train travels. Ships and barges have the fewest accidental spills or collisions of all forms of transportation. In fact, the same arguments that the railroads are currently using in an attempt to divert tonnage from road to rail to help Canada address greenhouse gas emissions concerns, pale in comparison to what the marine mode can offer. These opportunities for reducing hidden environmental costs need to be factored into the transportation policy debate. Similarly, the discussion related to infrastructure must focus on determining how best to invest in a transportation infrastructure that will serve industry and the general public well into the next millennium.