Maritime Empire

Great Lakes

  • The five Great Lakes (and Lake St. Clair) are water, reached up the St. Lawrence from its estuary, with the Welland Canal (Ontario to Erie), the Detroit and St. Clair rivers (Erie to Huron), the Straits of Mackinac (Huron to Michigan) and the St. Marys River (Huron to Superior).
  • Only ships that fit the St. Lawrence Seaway (about 226 m long) can sail to a Great Lakes port: the Scooter 20, Feeder 100, Feedermax 200, Laker, Grain Laker, Cattle Coaster, Livestock Carrier, Coastal and Car Hopper, and both recovery boats (the Buffalo and the Mammoth) so lake ships can be rescued. Bigger ships can't be given routes there or be bought at a lake hub. Recovery boats of either model can be based at a lake hub and recover ships lost on lake routes (a Buffalo only the models it carries).
  • Three lock systems, 3 s per lock step as at Panama:
    • St. Lawrence Seaway (Montreal to Lake Ontario): 7 single-chamber locks (St. Lambert, Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Lower and Upper Beauharnois, Snell, Eisenhower, Iroquois). Toll 10% of the leg's base pay, +25% XP.
    • Welland Canal (Lake Ontario to Lake Erie): single-chamber Locks 1–3, 7 and 8, and the twinned Flight Locks 4–6 (a lane each way). Toll 10%, +25% XP.
    • Soo Locks (Lake Huron to Lake Superior): one step with 3 parallel chambers, each taking a ship either way. No toll, +25% XP.
  • Single (shared) chambers take one ship at a time either way. A chamber is left at the level for the other way, so a ship the same way waits 3 s while it's turned around; with ships waiting both ways, a lock alternates direction. Otherwise the Panama rules apply: lines, engines off, no breakdowns in the lock systems, toll on entering (or wait at the entrance).
  • Legs between two ports on the upper lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron) pay +20% (the ore and grain trade).
  • Container prices differ around the lakes, so a Scooter 20 can pay its way from the big lake ports: Chicago (rail-hub imports: cheap toys and clothing, dear furniture and coffee) against Milwaukee (the reverse), about $1,700-2,000 a trip each way; and Lake Erie (Cleveland, Detroit, Toledo: toys and furniture a little cheaper, clothing and coffee a little dearer) against Lake Ontario (Toronto, Hamilton: toys and furniture 17% dearer, clothing and coffee 11% cheaper), about $2,200-2,800 Cleveland to Toronto and $3,700-4,100 back through the Welland Canal. Lake Ontario has the biggest differences because every way into it pays a 10% toll (Welland or St. Lawrence), so no outside port can cash in on them.