New Business Incentive Program

Contact us to find out how you can save time and money on your next shipment with our New Business Incentive Program.

Early during the 2008 navigation season the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) instituted a number of new incentive programs to assist their stakeholders in developing new business, and to encourage the growth of Seaway cargo movements.

In addition to a three-year freeze in toll rates applicable from 2008 to 2010, the programs consist of:

• The New Business Incentive Program offers a 20% discount on cargo tolls over the course of three years for commodity / origin / destination combinations approved as “new business.”


• Case Study: A vessel carrying a shipment of 10,000 tonnes of wind turbines transits the St. Lawrence Seaway. Its routing combination is confirmed by the Seaway as qualifying for the new business incentive because of a new port of origin. After the application of the 20% rebate, a savings of $7,012.00 would be realized.


• The Volume Rebate Incentive Program offers a 10% reduction on cargo tolls applicable to incremental volumes meeting a set of criteria.


• Case Study: A company ships 150,000 tonnes of bulk cargo above a pre-approved maximum volume in a year. After the application of the 10% volume incentive on the incremental volume, a savings of $25,269 is realized.

For full details of the Incentive Programs see the St. Lawrence Seaway’s Schedule of Tolls.

To qualify for a program, please complete the application form and submit to hwyh2o@seaway.ca.

The Market Development team will process your application, and contact you concerning the eligibility of the proposed cargo movement.