Maritime Initiative
What is the GSGP Maritime Initiative?
The Maritime Initiative is our program of work to advance toward the three major goals of our Maritime Transportation System Strategy:
Reduce the environmental impact from transportation
Support the region's industrial core
The maritime system: a critical asset for the region's economy
The Great Lakes St. Lawrence maritime transportation system is one of the region's competitive advantages, a backbone of the $9 trillion (US) regional economy and a key to the region's continued prosperity. This essential transportation system moves a wide range of cargo including iron ore, steel, grain, building materials, machinery, and containerized cargo.
Maritime Initiative focus areas
The Governors and Premiers help lead a regional coalition including industry, government, and other key partners focused on the following areas:
Growing Markets
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International trade development
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Cruise tourism development
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Regional shipbuilding support
Advocating Regional Priorities
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Investing in maritime infrastructure
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Completion of the Soo Locks
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Collaborative system management
Stimulating Innovation
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Smart and autonomous shipping
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New fuel and energy sources
10 years of Maritime Initiative progress
In the past 10 years, the Governors’ and Premiers’ leadership resulted in unprecedented progress:
- Secured Congressional authorization and multi-year funding for a new Soo Lock, a critical gateway of the regional maritime system.
- Launched Cruise the Great Lakes, a regional cruise marketing initiative, and worked with the US federal government and other partners to develop a strategy for passenger customs clearance.
- Completed a set of studies identifying the applications of biofuels and electrification for the regional maritime system.
- Built a transatlantic partnership with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium - a primary gateway port for our region to Western Europe - to increase cargo flows
- Convened the first Great Lakes St. Lawrence Maritime Days in Washington, DC, and Ottawa
- Developed an innovative Smart Ships Initiative:
- Released a Smart Ships Action Plan that includes policy recommendations
- Established the world’s first freshwater smart ships test bed at Michigan Tech University
- Launched the Smart Ships Coalition, a broad stakeholder community of academic, government, industry, and international organizations
The Governors and Premiers are building on these successes as they continue to improve the maritime system for the benefit of the region’s economy and people.
The Great Lakes St. Lawrence maritime transportation system is one of the region’s competitive advantages, a backbone of the nearly $9 trillion (US) regional economy, and a key to the region’s continuing prosperity. The Governors and Premiers will continue working together to capitalize on this interconnected, inter-jurisdictional transportation system and increase the economic competitiveness of the entire region.
