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Ma r i n e News - cont'd. Decem be r, and 4. we have taken across the lake to Niag a r a dur i n g late a b s o l u t e l y no idea what may be pl anned for her. We have c o n f i r m a t i o n that an other of the former Star Line e x c u r s i o n boats left the Great Lakes during the autumn. On Octo be r 8th, STAR OF C H I C A G O III, w h i c h earlier had been m o v e d from Port Lamb t o n to Ecorse, d e p a r t e d the N i c h o l s o n dock, bou nd for Keyport, Ne w Jersey, whe re she was to join the fleet of C o r n u c o p i a Cruis e Lines. (Keyport is loc at ed on the south shore of Lower New Yor k B a y . ) She was d o w n b o u n d in the W e l l a n d Can al on O c t o b e r 10th, and her u pper w orks had bee n reduced to a llow her to make her pa ssage out via the New Yor k State Barge Canal and then down the Hu d s o n River. She r e p o r t e d l y will be doi ng din ne r cruises for her ne w owner. During December, muc h e v i dence was hea rd in court at Simcoe, Ontario, in the trial of Capt. Gordon St ogdale and third offi ce r W i l l i a m Bennett, of the C a n a d i a n Coast Gua rd i c e b r e a k e r GRIFFON. The two are cha rg ed w i t h three counts each of da ng erous o p e r a t i o n of a vess el ca using d eath and cr iminal n e g l i g e n c e c aus i n g death in c o n n e c t i o n w ith the March 18, 1991, in cident in which, durin g h e a v y fog, the G R I F F O N ram me d the Port Dover fis hi ng tug C A P T AIN K. on Long Point Bay, Lake Erie. The tug sank and her three cre w m e m bers were lost. (The hull of the tug, cut almost in two by the ic eb reaker, s u b s e q u e n t l y was r a i s e d . ) Amon g s t the evide n c e p r o duced during the trial and w i d e l y r e p o r t e d by the publi c press was tes t i m o n y that, des pi te s e v e r e l y i m paired v i s i b i l i t y and the kno w l e d g e that other vess el s were in the area, the G R I F F O N was o p e r a t i n g at h igh speed and was not s o u nding fog signals. In addition, the ma s t e r had gone off the brid ge and left Benne tt in charge, the w h e e l s m a n was i n e x p e r i e n c e d at ope r a t i o n in fog or at hig h speed, and G R I F FON'S radar w a t c h was less than effective. The trial wi ll be c o n t i n u i n g in the Ne w Year. A 4 6 - y e a r - o l d cr ewman from A s h t a b u l a m y s t e r i o u s l y d i s a p p e a r e d from the A m e rican Steamship Company self-unloader ST. CLA IR while the ve s s e l was transi t t i n g the St. Mar y' s River, upbo u n d for Duluth, early on the m o r n i n g of N o v ember 17th. A U . S. Co ast Gua rd sea rc h fa iled to locate the miss i n g man, and the sea rc h was called off after a few hours whe n it be came evident that no pers on could have su rvived for long in the 41° F. water, w i t h air temperatures around the 17° F. mark. M any sh ipping obs ervers in the Th under Bay and D u l u t h - S u p e r i o r areas were m u c h saddened by the dep a r t u r e for new service on the west coast of INCAN SUPERIOR. The pa ssage of the r a i lroad c a r f e r r y out of the lakes was r e ported in our D e c ember issue. Not only had the 1 9 74-built ferry become an i n s t i t u t i o n and both A m e r i c a n and C a n a d i a n La keheads, calling at the two ports more often each sea so n than any other vessel, but she could mak e the trip between the two Lak e h e a d s in only 13 hours. The d e c i s i o n to take INCAN SU P ERIOR off her Lake S u p erior route was made by Inc an Ships L i m i t e d (a subsi d i a r y of C a n a d i a n Pa cific L t d . ) as a result of a de crease of 45 percent in shipments of n e wsprint and wood pulp since 1991, and also because of 1990's huge in crease in port taxes ch arged by the U . S. federal a u t h o rities to help b a n k roll harbour ma in tenance. As yet, we have not hea rd w h i c h route INCAN S U P ERIOR will be se rving on the west coast of Canada. For m any month s now, it has been evident that the A t a r a t i r i a s s isted ho using d evelo p m e n t plan n e d for former i ndustrial lands in T o ronto's lower east side in the area b e t w e e n Pa rl iament Street and the Don Riv er is dead, the final d eath warrant co ming from P rovincial autho ri ti es . The C ity of To ronto is left to figure out what to do wit h the v a c a t e d or a b a n d o n e d lands in the area. One of the sites is that oc cupied by the former V i c t o r y Soya Mills, now owned by Central Soya Ltd. The el evator silos and bean mash i n g plant now stand vacant, a l t h o u g h once the scene of muc h ship pi ng activity. In response to a Tor onto H i s t o r i c a l Board at tempt to list the 1 9 4 4 -vintage plant as historic and w o r t h y of saving, Cen tr al Soya rea ct ed s t r ongly in the press, i n d i c a t i n g that it was a c t i v e l y a t t e m p t i n g to sell the site on the east side of the Pa rl iament Street slip.