2023 Shipping Season Ends with Longest International Season on Record

DULUTH, Minn. — When the 2023 shipping season officially ended on January 21, it was one of the longest seasons ever for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.

The lengthy season helped total shipments exceed 31.7 million tons, up 4.5 percent from last year and 0.1 percent above the five-year average. Total iron ore was over 21.5 million tons which is the most since 1995.

This year also marked the longest international season at 277 days with both the earliest arrival (Federal Dart; March 28, 2023) and latest departure (Nordika Desgagnes; December 29, 2023) of oceangoing vessels on record. This led to increased tonnage of cement, grain, and other cargo compared to last year. In total there were 775 ship arrivals in the Twin Ports, the most since 2018.

This year, 8 active ships are wintering in the Duluth-Superior seaport which is double from 2023. Shipping companies typically spend 2 to 3 million dollars per ship for maintenance and upgrades during the winter layup. It will take over 150 skilled workers to perform the work over the next couple of months.