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Marine News - cont'd. It was announced in late autumn that, effective January 1 , 1 9 9 0 , and subject to Canadian government regulatory approval, the ULS Corporation and the M a rine Division of the Algoma Central Railway had agreed to enter into an ar rangement for the pooling of the operations of the straight-deck bulk carri ers of the two fleets. Basically, it will see the remaining Algoma straightdeckers time-chartered to ULS, without any change of names or colours. This arrangement will enable ULS to handle the additional ore tonnage which, com mencing i n 1990, it will bring up the Seaway to the Dofasco plant at Hamil ton. (It will be recalled that Dofasco is closing two obsolete Northern On tario mines and has purchased a large interest in the Quebec Cartier Mine. ) Cargo requirements will be such that it is believed that all of the straightdeckers w i l l be kept busy in the ore trade for the entire 1 9 9 0 season, and it will remain to be seen how much grain will be available for them to carry on downbound trips. In recent years, the future of some of the straight-deck bulkers in both fleets had become questionable, but the increased ore traf fic would appear to guarantee their future for a number of years. Upbound iron ore now will be a principal trade pattern and not just a convenient backhaul for ships in the grain trade. The agreement between the two firms will have no bearing on the self-unloaders of the ULS and Algoma fleets, for they will continue to be operated independently by the companies in their usual trades. We have received a report to the effect that the self-unloading bulk carrier COALER 1 was sold during August for $400,000 to Hong Kong buyers, reportedly for scrapping. The sale is notable because COALER 1 was built in 1 9 6 1 - 6 2 as Hull 526 by Lithgow's Wm. Hamilton Ltd. (Glen Yard) at Port Glasgow, Scot land, for the Hall Corporation of Canada. Christened HALLFAX (C.314398), she was 3 7 3 .2 x 58.1 x 28.9 , 5780 Gross and 3569 Net, and was powered by two sixcylinder Nydqvist & Holm diesels. Launched February 6 , 1 9 6 2 , and delivered at Sydney, Nova Scotia, on June 14th, she ran for Halco on the lakes and the east coast. Over the winter of 1 9 6 5 - 6 6 , Canadian Vickers Ltd. enlarged the ship at the Davie yard in Lauzon, Quebec, at which time she became 430.0 x 58.1 x 30.0, 7470 Gross and 5113 Net. Halco decommissioned HALLFAX in 1981 and sold her to Cia de Navegacion Vapor Negro S.A., Panama, which renamed her (b) COALER 1 and took her off to operate in warmer climes on salt water. Now, it would seem, her usefulness has come to an end. Two issues back, we mentioned the chartering by Enerchem Transport Inc. of the tanker NORDIC, (a) NORDIC SUN (8 9 ). It now develops that her former ow ner, Welland Shipping Company (Sun Transport Inc., managers), sold her to as yet unidentified purchasers who in turn arranged the Enerchem charter. The vessel is to operate under the Liberian flag. She left Brest, France, on Oc tober 4 for Gothenburg, Sweden, where she was renamed, and she made her very first appearance at Montreal as NORDIC on November 1st. With Enerchem stack colours displayed, NORDIC passed up the Seaway on November 3rd, bound for Sarnia. The Paterson motorship SOODOC (II) is trading on salt water again this win ter. As earlier reported, she was brought back under the Canadian flag dur ing the summer, but on October 15» whilst lying at Quebec City, SOODOC again was placed under Bahamas registry. It has become customary for SOODOC to spend her winters on salt water, while her sistership ONTADOC (II) usually remains in the lakes. Last issue, we noted the departure from Port Weller Dry Docks of the exten sively (and expensively! ) reconditioned destroyer-escort H. M. C. S. NIPIGON, but we did not give the actual date of her sailing. In fact, it was on No vember 9th that NIPIGON cleared Port Weller for Halifax. On November 3 0 , "the C. S. L. self-unloader ATLANTIC HURON, (a) PRAIRIE HARVEST (8 9 ), sailed from Port Weller after the completion of her conversion. The motorship passed upbound through the Welland Canal and took two loads of coal out of Sandusky in order to "break in" her new gear. ATLANTIC HURON then sailed for salt water, where she will operate in various trades through the winter months.