The 2000 Great Lakes shipping season ended on Feb. 8, when the Canadian Transport loaded 29,000 tons of coal at the Pittsburgh & Conneaut dock in Conneaut, Ohio. The cargo was then delivered to Ontario Hydro's power plant in Naticoke, Ontario. "Ice conditions were horrendous from early December on," said George J.Ryan, president of Lake Carriers' Association, the trade association representing the major U.S.-Flag Lakes lines. "At times, the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers and western Lake Erie basin were clogged with brash ice going down 15 ft. Even the high-powered, ice strengthened lakers that operate at the beginning and end of the season could not have proceeded without the icebreaking assistance provided by the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards.