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2. G R E E T I N G S OF THE SEASON One of the things to w hich your Editor looks forwa rd ea ch yea r is his o p p o r tunity, as the Ch ri stmas H o l i d a y s draw near, to chat wit h all of our mem be rs in these pages on a most in formal basis, and to pass along the special wishes w hich are ex c h a n g e d among st frien ds at this time of the year. It is not often that we enjoy the luxur y of h a v i n g space av a i l a b l e in "Scanner" for such ramblings, but as we consi de r all of the m e m b e r s of the Toron to Marine H i s t o r i c a l Society to be one large fam il y of friends, we think that it is very import an t for us to find space to do so in the De cember issue. This also gives us an o p p o r t u n i t y to re v i e w the year that has just pas se d and to comment, in a v e r y subj ec ti ve way, we must admit, on the vari ou s d e v e l opments w h i c h have taken place on the mar in e scene dur in g the year. This is the twe n t y - f i f t h time that we have done this bit of y e a r - e n d business, and we are plea s e d that we still are here, tru st y t y pewriter in hand, to recor d our thoughts. We are also pl eased that you, our faithfu l readers, are still just a leap of the Post Offic e awa y and still there to read our musings. What all has h a p p e n e d on the lake s h i p p i n g scene since last year w hen we revie w e d the state of things? Not r e a l l y ver y much! Our govern m e n t s are still telling us that the d e p r e s s i o n is ending and that ec onomic r e c o v e r y is at hand. But people are still lo sing their jobs, wa ges are fro ze n if not d e creasing, and the g o v e r n m e n t a l han d dips ever de eper into the taxable pocket of the pe ople whi le the au t h o r i t i e s run the local and n a t ional debts to u n p r e c e d e n t e d heights. An d the lake shipp i n g i n d u s t r y has not seen any subs ta n t i a l i m p r o vement in its ope r a t i n g p o s i t i o n since last year. If a n y thing, the si t u a t i o n has wors en ed , most e s p e c i a l l y on the C a n a d i a n side of the Great Lakes. The C a n a d i a n grain trade has been u n u s u a l l y bad. The h o r rible w e a t h e r of 1992 on the p rair i e s was such that the gra in y ield was v ery low, and exports to Russia were, in any event, minimal be cause there was no m o n e y f o r t h c o m i n g to pay the freight for m o v i n g the grain ac ross the ocean. The summe r floods of 1993 w h i c h closed the M i s s i s s i p p i Riv er to b a r g e - c a r r i e d U . S. grain exports did help to pr ovide some ca rgoes for those C a n a d i a n fleet s w h i c h carry U . S. export grain, but there wer e not n e a r l y the nu m b e r of such cargoes that might have bee n e x p e c t e d by those who l i s tened to the news broa d c a s t s each day and h eard the re ports of the f l o o d i n g on the Upp er Mississippi. A c o n s i d e r a b l e nu m b e r of s t r a i g h t - d e c k bul k carri er s r e m a i n e d idle for part or all of the 1993 season, and there is a v ery real p o s s i b i l i t y that some of them, despite their r e l a t i v e l y y oung age (as lake ships go), have sailed their last and soon will be goi ng to the breakers. The trend to fewer ships in fewer fleets seems ines ca pa bl e, and we wo n d e r just what a ves se l ope ra to r must now do to be able to mak e the sh ipping bu siness pro fi ta bl e. There was some iron ore m o v i n g u p b o u n d thr ou gh the Seaway, but not eno u g h to ac tivate any addi t i o n a l ships. Ta nkers c o n t i n u e d to be sold or f l a g g e d out, and one of our few cement carr ie rs was c h artered to a U . S. o p e r a t o r for stor age purposes. Most of the s e l f - u n l o a d e r s kept running, a l t h o u g h one, SAGUENAY, r e m a i n e d idle the entir e yea r at Toronto. An idle craneship, Y A N K CANUCK, was r e a c t i v a t e d for a summer ch arter for A r c t i c supply serv ic e but did return to the lakes w h e n those dutie s were concluded. On the U n i t e d States side of the lakes, there r e m a i n e d opera t i o n s w h i c h could interes t the shi pping observer, as the econ o m y g e n e r a l l y showed more signs of r e c o v e r y there than in Canada. The steel bu siness c o n t i n u e d active and hence most of the "captive" U . S. ca rriers sta ye d busy, and even the Inland Steel s t r a i g h t - d e c k e r EDWARD L. R Y E R S O N con t i n u e d to flaunt her h a n d some lines around the lakes. Kins m a n Lines' traditional-style bulk er s r e m a i n e d active in the d o m e s t i c grain trade to Bu ffalo and Cleve la nd , and both K I N S M A N E N T E R P R I S E and K I N S M A N I N D E P E N D E N T r e c e i v e d d r y d o c k i n g for s u r