Some of the St. Lawrence Seaway locks are subject to Alkali-Aggregate Reaction (AAR), which gradually reduce lock width. In winter, ice accumulation on the lock walls hinders ship traffic and lock operations. The SLSMC needed to assess the urgency and scope of the rehabilitation work required in order to ensure operability of the seaway for the next 50 years.
COSIME was mandated to propose and implement an innovative decisional approach based on risk analysis. This approach integrated the experience of operators, ship pilots and operations analysts, as well as a quantitative analysis of years of shipping and weather data. On this basis, and taking into account the SLSMC’s risk management policy, COSIME identified sources of operational risks during ice periods and reassessed the planned interventions and rehabilitation work.