The six-day pushback comes amid a winter that has seen heavy icing in the waterway system shared by the countries.

It is the first time the seaway’s opening has been delayed since 1997.

The delay impacts both the St Lawrence River route to Lake Ontario via Montreal as well as the Welland Canal, which bypasses Niagara Falls to connect Lake Ontario to Lake Erie, according to a joint alert from Canada’s St Lawrence Seaway Management Corp and the US Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp.

Draught