Maintenance dredging services fees
These fees allow the Canadian Coast Guard to recover the cost of maintenance dredging of the St. Lawrence Ship Channel to support commercial navigation. The St. Lawrence Ship Channel includes the navigation channel of the St. Lawrence River between the upstream boundary of the Port of Montreal and the upstream end of Île aux Coudres.
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Fee criteria
We charge maintenance dredging fees on a per-transit basis to all vessels that (all criteria must be met):
- begin, stop or end at a Canadian port
- have a draught of 5 metres or more
- transit all or part of the St. Lawrence Ship Channel
Your vessel does not pay the dredging fees if it:
- stops at a Canadian port to
- respond to a medical emergency
- undertake emergency ship repairs
- respond to a government department or agency request to stop
- take on bunkers that will be used exclusively to continue their voyage
- make an overnight stop due to the seasonal removal of lighted aids to navigation
- moves within the boundaries of a port on the St. Lawrence Ship Channel
- travels through Canadian waters to or from a port in the United States, without stopping at a Canadian port
- begins its transit at the Port of Montréal (not including the terminal at Contrecœur) and proceeds directly into the St. Lawrence Seaway
- ends its transit at the Port of Montréal (not including the terminal at Contrecœur) after proceeding directly from the St. Lawrence Seaway
Current rates (April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025)
Vessels pay a per-transit fee of $0.0583 multiplied by the vessel’s gross tonnage. The minimum charge is $25 per transit.
Note: We adjust the fee for inflation annually, on the first day of April, based on the consumer price index.
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