CHALLENGES THAT LIMIT THE EFFECTIVE UTILISATION OF INLAND WATER TRANSPORT IN CANADA/ RHINELANDS

The St. Lawrence Seaway is icebound for 3 to 4 months in a year. This limits
its use during these months due to long periods of winter freezing.
Continuous silting of the Seaway affects its usefulness for navigation as it
becomes shallow for big vessels calling for constant dredging which is
costly. The period during dredging also limits its use.

St. Lawrence has many locks at the Montreal section, Welland Canal and
between Ontario and Erie, Erie to Michigan and Michigan to Superior used
to adjust the water levels and improve navigation due to fluctuating volumes
of water. These cause serious delays in movement.
The width and depth of the seaway limits the size of vessels to be used on
the route. The Freighters, Whalebacks and Cargo barges are much larger than
those of the Rhine waterway.
Presence of waterfalls and rapids interrupts the use of rivers for navigation.
In the Rhine lands, the Rhine is navigable up to Basel in Switzerland and the
rest of the country is mountainous especially in the Alpine region limiting
navigation.

The occurrence of smog and foggy conditions at the mouth of River St.
Lawrence leads to poor usability causing accidents.
The seaway is still narrow and shallow with bends along its course especially
for large ocean-going vessels.
There is pollution of the seaway by well-established industries and oil spills
causing air, water and land pollution which interferes with the traffic along
the Rhine or St. Lawrence Seaway.
There is congestion in terms of traffic and cargo carried and accommodated
at a single season. This is due to many vessels along the river causing delays.
10.The waterways are faced with competition from other modes of transport
especially roads, air and railways. This is because they are less congested and
faster especially air transport for fragile and perishable items such as
horticultural products and precision products (watches, microscopes).

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