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Marine News - c o n t 'd . 4. JACK, the ship ar ri v e d at De tr oit on May 4, u n d erwent refitting, and entered service du ri ng June. In a d d i t i o n to a c c o m m o d a t i n g ch arter parties, DI AMOND JACK of fe re d two-hour n a r r a t e d tours d e p a r t i n g from Hart Plaza and St. Au bin Park. A rather u n u s u a l accident o c c u r r e d on the St. L a w rence Seaway on Thursday, August 29th. The Sp anish salt - w a t e r tanker MAR C A T E R I N A was u p b o u n d w it h a cargo of li qui d asphalt for Millhaven, Ontario, and Hamilton. At about 9 : 15 a. m., the ship struck the d o w n b o u n d a p p r o a c h wall above the Snell Lock, and a small gash was torn in the tanker's hull. As phalt at about 136° Fahr e n h e i t began to leak from the ship, and she was taken back into the lock cham b e r in an effort to m i n i m i z e the effects of the spill. Some 67 tons of asphalt sp ill ed into the w ater before the leak was stemmed. The ship was re moved from the lock chamber later the same day, but the Se a w a y was closed for three days w hi le the sp illed asphalt was clea n e d up from the bot t o m of the lock. Re gul ar traffic r e s u m e d during the ev ening of August 31st. The spill does not ap pear to have caused any signif i c a n t environmental damage, a l t h o u g h severa l pigeons were caught in the asphalt flow! Last issue, we made ref e r e n c e to a g r o u n d i n g in the Detroit River of the So can av Inc. tanker W. M. VAC Y ASH, (a) LAK E S H E L L (I I I ) (87), but at that time, we had no concrete de tai ls of the occurrence. It is now known that the m o t o r t a n k e r g r o u n d e d near G r a s s y Island. There was no major damage to the ASH, but some of her cargo had to be l i g h t e r e d into barges before the vessel could be r e f l o a t e d on August 3rd. The ship was m oved to a m o o r i n g on the C a n a d i a n side of the river for inspection before she was allowed to resume her voyage. An ot h e r summer gr o u n d i n g o c c u r r e d early on July 25th, 1991, when the Purvis Mar ine c r a n e s h i p YANKCANUCK, d o w n b o u n d in tow of A N G L I A N LADY and b ound for Chicago, found the bo t t o m in the St. M a r y ' s River near Sweets Point, about four miles above DeTour. The Purvis tugs M A R T I N E. J O H N S O N and W. I. SCOTT PURVIS p r o c e e d e d to the scene wit h the barge CHIEF WAWATAM, and some 1 , 200 tons of cargo were taken out of YANKCANUCK. The ship was ref l o a t e d on July 27, and after i n s p e c t i o n r e v e a l e d no signif i c a n t damage, she p r o c e e d e d on her way. The 1991 se ason saw, for the first time in many years, a ferry service op er at in g from P e n n s y l v a n i a to Ontario across Lake Erie. The Nolan Cruise Lines ve sse l SP IRIT OF ERIE, 110 feet in length, began service b e t w e e n Erie and Port Dover on July 16th. The vessel has a c a p acity of 150 passengers. On the less pleasant, side of the news, Lake Erie has lost several e x c u r s i o n boats. G o o d t i m e T r ansit's G O O D T I M E II left C l e v e l a n d on May 4, bound for P hi lad elp hia , wh ere her new owners will run her as a dinner boat under the name LI BE R T Y BELLE II. The former C l e v e l a n d dinner boats PRIDE OF C L E V E L A N D and STAR OF N A U T I C A were seized for debt, and both were s c heduled to be sold by U . S. M a r s h a l ' s auction. Ever since Ch arles F. Con r a d purchased during Jul y the assets of the ba nkr upt M i c h i g a n - W i s c o n s i n T r a n s p o r t a t i o n Company, and ann o u n c e d plans to r e in st at e f er ry service acros s Lake M i c h i g a n in 1992, there has been much sp e c u l a t i o n as to what port w o u l d be s e l e c t e d for the w e s t e r n terminus of the ferry from Ludington. In mid-August, the new Lake M i c h i g a n C a r f e r r y Se rvice Inc., Ludington, a n n o u n c e d that the line had ch o s e n M a n i t o w o c as the site of its W i s c o n s i n landing. The o v e r j o y e d M a n i t o w o c m u n i c i p a l a u t h o r i t i e s have ag re ed to refurbish the ferry dock there, to erect ap p r o p r i a t e direction signs along the roads, and to supply coal for the ferries. M a n i t o w o c has a large c o a l - f i r e d m u n i c i p a l g e n e r a t i n g station, and obtains coal at vo lu me discount; the coal for the ferries will be s u p plied at low cost, w i t h a m i n i m a l surcharg e going to pay the city's costs in fixing up the l o n g - d i s u s e d ferry dock. It is hoped that BADGER, the last of the three ferries to see service for the old owner, will initiate the new service on M ay 15, 1992.