When the Montreal-Lake Ontario section of the St. Lawrence Seaway opened on Sunday, March 22, it paved the way for the first saltie (ocean-going ship) to enter from the Atlantic Ocean at Montreal, Quebec. At the far end of the Seaway, in the Port of Duluth-Superior, the first saltie is a welcome sight and by tradition, the first full transit from the Atlantic Ocean marks the annual opening of the Duluth-Superior Harbor. The interlake navigation season this year began on March 23, 2026.

Saltie MV Ocean7 Ranger, the Netherlands-built cargo ship, likely faced ice conditions throughout the St. Mary's River and Whitefish Bay. Six U.S. Coast Guard vessels and three Canadian Coast Guard vessels were deployed to Lake Superior and the St. Mary's River for icebreaking operations as stubborn ice remained in spots.

"MV Ocean7 Ranger was built in 2005 and features twin cranes with a tandem lift capacity of approximately 500 tons. The vessel is 441 feet long and 72 feet wide. She sailed from Taiwan, passing through the Pacific Ocean, Panama Canal, Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System. Her visit to the Great Lakes included a stop at Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor on Saturday, where the vessel delivered a dewatering drum for U.S. Steel Gary Works. Her Duluth-bound manifest includes 30 pieces of project cargo for discharge at Duluth's Clure Public Marine Terminal. The heaviest of those pieces weighs more than 11,500 freight tons," noted Duluth Seaway Port Authority Director of Communication and Marketing Jayson Hron.

On April 8, 2026, MV Ocean7 Ranger arrived under Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge at 7:32 a.m., becoming the first oceangoing vessel to complete a full transit of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System and reach the Port of Duluth-Superior during the 2026 navigation season.

"Along with earning 'First Ship' honors, the Liberia-flagged heavy-lift vessel also distinguished itself by delivering an especially sizable shipment of project cargo to Duluth's Clure Public Marine Terminal. The manifest includes 33 pieces, the heaviest weighing approximately 130 short tons. Duluth Cargo Connect will perform ship-to-shore cargo-handling and logistics operations for the vessel, preparing the cargo for overland transport to Alberta, Canada.

"The Dutch-built MV Ocean7 Ranger loaded and sailed from both China and Korea, navigating the Pacific Ocean, the Panama Canal and the Atlantic Ocean before entering the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System," noted Hron in a press release.

The latest arrival of the port's first oceangoing ship was MV Diana on May 7, 2014. MV Federal Dart was the earliest arriving on March 28, 2023. Last year, the season's first saltie, MV Federal Nagara, arrived April 21 at 6:05 a.m.

Watch MV Ocean7 Ranger arriving in Duluth on April 8, 2026: https://www.youtube.com/….

Mary Kennedy can be reached at Mary.Kennedy@dtn.com

Follow her on social platform X @MaryCKenn

(c) Copyright 2026 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.