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3. Marine N e ws - c o n t 'd . We earlier re por ted the late-season sale by Enerchem Tran sport Inc. of the former canaller ENERCHEM LAKER, (a) ROCKC L I F F E HALL (II) (72), (b) ISLAND TRA NS PO RT (86). We now learn that the m otortanker was sold to Energy Rec ov er y Systems, a U . S. firm which will operate her as a b u nkeri ng ship "in Panama". Flying the P a namanian flag and r e c h ristened (d) RECOVERY VIII, she cle ared Mo nt real on December 7th, and on the 16th she arrived at anchor at Halifax. Due to the lateness of the season, her new owner called for bids for an "assisted tow" to New York. On Christmas Day morning, R E C O V E R Y VIII cleare d H a l i f a x for New York, ac c o m p a n i e d by the tug RU SSELL JR. (the former U . S. C . G. tug YANKTON), owned by Russell Tripp, of Boston. It w ou ld seem that the m i s f o rtunes of the "Ontonagon Barge" abated when she left the upper lakes. Under tow of the Marine Spe c i a l t y Co mpany tug TORRENT, the barge passed down at Detroit on December 10, and on the 17th (reported as UPSCO HULL 002) she was dow n b o u n d in the Seaway, a s s isted by EVANS Mc KEI L and GLENSIDE. In the lower river, TORRENT suffered damage in the ice below Ile aux Coudres, and had to undergo emergency repairs. TOR RENT and her barge passed H a l i f a x on Janu a r y 3rd, e s t i m a t i n g arrival at Port Arthur, Texas, for Janu a r y 18th. We have received con f i r m a t i o n that, wh en the barge enters service, she will indeed be chris t e n e d LIGHTNING. A po t e n t i a l l y serious accident occurred in the early morn i n g hours of Dec emb er 31st at Toledo. The Algoma Central s e l f -unloader A L G O R A I L was u p bound in the Ma umee River with a cargo of potash when she was caught in the strong current caused by heavy rains and a rapid snow melt. The ship swung across the channel, with her bow wedged against the dock of The And e r s o n s elevato r fa cil ities and her stern against the pilings of the Conrail swing bridge. It took the G-tugs MONTANA, NEW H A M P S H I R E and UTAH some eight hours to pull the ship from the bridge draw, and several freight and passenger trains were de layed while the bridge was stuck in the open position. The ship was unhurt, al though minor damage to the dock and bridge pilings was reported. ALGORAIL finally cleared Toledo on January 4th, bound for Go de ri ch to load salt. An other Algoma ship had bridge troubles at Toledo, this on Decemb er 30th. A L G O W O O D was trapped when elec trical problem s struck the Ma rt in Luther King Jr. Bridge. The span was out of oper ation for six hours and had to be cranked open m a n u a l l y to allow A L G O W O O D to pass. On De cem ber 13, 1990, a judge of the U . S. District Court at Chicago ruled that p r o f e ss io na l diver H arry Zych, through his Lady Elgin Foundation, has clear claim to the wreckage of the p a ssenger steamer LADY ELGIN w hich has been lying on the floor of Lake Michi g a n since her sinking on the night of Se pte mbe r 8, 1860, after a c o l lision with the schooner AUGUSTA. Zych claims that he found the w reck in 1989, but he has not revealed its location. The judge's ruing v a lidates an agreement w hich Zych's f o undation had made w ith the C IG NA P r o perty & C a s u a l t y Company, successor to the LADY ELGIN'S insurer, for rights to the w reck in return for 20% of the gross proceeds of the sale of any artifacts from the wreck. In a move w h i c h will not be popular amongst p r e s e r v a t i o n groups, Zych plans to begin "salvaging" the wr eck as soon as he can raise the funds. Zych also has laid claim to the wreck of the steamer SEABIRD, which burned on Lake M i c h i g a n on April 9, 1868. The LADY EL GIN and SEABIRD disasters together claimed some 400 lives. Toront o e x c ur si on boat operator Norman Rogers (who runs EMPIRE SANDY and also "The To ron to Drydock" made out of the hull of the coaster MENIER CONSOL, and who owns the former U . S. C . G. tug SAUK and the barge S. A. QUEEN), has bought another vessel to use as a party boat on Toronto Bay. The latest a c q u i s i t i o n is the former trawler MISS KRISTY (U .S .540420), 122 Gross and 88 Net, w hich was built in Lou i s i a n a about 1970. The vessel, at last report, was lying at the F a irhaven Shipyard, Fairhaven, Ma ssachusetts, but Rogers in tended to take her farther south for winter refurbishing. She s u pp os ed ly will be made over into a sailing vessel to serve as ac o mpanion to the t h r e e -m as ted EMPIRE SANDY (the former steam tug CHRIS M . ).