MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A deal was reached Sunday to end a week-long strike that had shut down a major shipping artery in the Great Lakes, halting the flow of grain and other goods from the U.S. and Canada. The strike shut down 13 locks on the seaway between Lake Erie and Montreal, bottling up ships in the Great Lakes and preventing more ships from coming in. The St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes are part of a system of locks, canals, rivers and lakes that stretches more than 2,300 miles (3,700 kilometers) from the Atlantic Ocean to the western tip of Lake Superior in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Ships that travel it include oceangoing “salties” and “lakers” that stick to the lakes. It’s the first time that a strike has shut down the vital shipping artery since 1968.

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Persons: “, Terence Bowles, Unifor, ”, Bruce Burrows Organizations: Lawrence Seaway Management Corp, Seaway Management, Seaway, Lawrence Seaway, Ships, “ lakers, Marine Commerce, U.S Locations: MINNEAPOLIS, Great, U.S, Canada, Ontario, Quebec, Unifor, Lake Erie, Montreal, The St, Lawrence, Lake Superior, Minnesota, Wisconsin