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Marin e News - c o n t 'd . Ever since her building in 1989 by Moss Point Marin e Inc., of Pascagoula, Mississippi, the Eastern Upper Peni ns ul a T r a n s p o r t a t i o n Au t h o r i t y ' s p a s s e n ger and auto fe rry DRUMMOND ISL AN DE R III has su ffered from as sorted problems, the most sig ni fi ca nt of these bei ng major engine dif fi cu lt ie s. In fact, new C a t e r p i l l a r en gines were ins t a l l e d in the ferry as late as F e b ruary of 1993, to repla ce the earlier Cummins dies el s w hich were not satisfactory. By early November, however, D R U M M O N D I S L ANDER III was laid up b ec au se of a co oling water leak through a pi nhole in the blo ck of one of the new engines, and traffic on the impo rt an t cr ossing be tween DeTour, Michigan, and Dr ummond Isla nd was be ing handled by the smaller a u x i l i a r y ferry D R U M MOND ISLANDER, which dates from 1947. It was hop ed that the hole in the block could be patc h e d in time for the big ge r fe rry to be bac k in service for the busy fall hunting season, and that the d e fective engine could be replaced un der w a r r a n t y at a later point in time. Inter es ti ng ly , it al ready had been planned that D R U M M O N D ISLA ND ER III w ould be d r y d o c k e d (p re sumably at Sault Ste. Marie, Michi ga n) duri ng the autu mn for replacement of her propellers, w h i c h have proven to be u n s a t i s f a c t o r y for winter ice service. The ferry has been a maj or h e a dache for the E . U . P. T. A. ever since her c o m miss ion ing, and no doubt the A u t h o r i t y wil l do e v e r y t h i n g in its power to ensure that the new ferry plan n e d for its Sugar Island route pe rforms in a more a c ceptable manner. On of the three big st eam engin es w hich f o r merly powe r e d the Strai ts of M a c kinac c a r f e r r y CHIEF WAWATAM, has been dona t e d to the M a n itowoc Ma rine Museum. The CHIEF, of course, is now ope r a t i n g as a barge for Purvis Ma rine Ltd., of the C a n a d i a n Soo, and the engine had been st ored on the G overnment Wharf there. On N o v ember 4th, the Roen Sa lvage C o m pany's tug JOHN R. ASHER, h ead i n g for Lake Michigan w ith a derr i c k barge and two scows after c ompl e t i n g a job at Ma rquette, Michigan, sto pp ed over at the Soo. The engine from the CHIEF was loaded aboard one of the scows and the tow the went over to the Carbide Dock at the M i c h i g a n Soo. A fter w a i t i n g for weather, the tug and her charges got un der wa y dow n b o u n d on Novem b e r 6th. In earlier issues, we have com m e n t e d up on the "new life" cur r e n t l y bei ng enjo y e d by the old c a n a l l e r - n o w - s a n d s u c k e r CHA RL ES R. HUNTL EY , which is now owned by Verreault N a v i g a t i o n Inc., of Les Mechins, Quebec. There has been some doubt about the spe ll in g of the new name of this ve n e r a b l e vessel, it having been r e p o r t e d in se veral diff er en t versions, but it now has been co nfir med that the name is BV RAYNA. The d e r i v a t i o n of that name is not i m m e d i a t e l y evident. One of the mai n reaso ns for the decli ne in use of the s t r a i g h t - d e c k bulk carrier has been the re moval of s h o r e - m o u n t e d u n l o a d i n g rigs, such as "ore bridges" and the famous Hulett machines, at va rious ports due to the fact that cargo could be car ri ed and u n l oaded more c o s t - e f f i c i e n t l y by s e l f u n l o a d i n g ships. As long as the shore rigs were in use, s t r a i g h t - d e c k e r s on the C a n a d i a n side of the lakes could c arry iron ore, coal and oth er bulk cargoes in a d d i t i o n to their m ain loads of grain. One of the docks that r e ceived s t r a i g h t - d e c k e r s for man y years was that of the Steel C o m p a n y of Canada at Hamilton, Ontario, to w h i c h both coal and iro n ore were hauled, m o s t l y by the ships of Ca nada S t eamship Lines. In recent years, however, the Stelco dock has not use d its shore rigs and all cargoes have been br ought in by self-unlo ad ers . On Sunday, Oc tober 31st, crews from the T e p e r m a n d e m o l i tion firm, of Toronto, br ought down Ste lc o' s two big u n l o a d i n g "bridges" w i t h explosive charges. The pr ess in both H a m i l t o n and Toro n t o ca rried p h o tographs of the sp e c t a c u l a r dem is e of the old structures. In recent years, traffic alo ng the St. L a w rence Seawa y has d e c l i n e d s i g n i f i cantly, not only beca us e of the ec onomic d e p r e s s i o n but also bec au se of the shipping of so muc h C a n a d i a n ex port grain by rail to the west coast rathe r than down the lakes to the ports of the St. Law re nc e River. Accordingly, revenues from the op e r a t i o n of the C a n a d i a n canals have d e c l i n e d d r a s t i c a l l y and the C a n a d i a n federa l gover n m e n t has been war n e d that the St. L a w r e n c e