Maritime History of the Great Lakes

Scanner, v. 39, no. 8 (Summer 2007), p. 8

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Ship of the Month - cont'd. 8. crews knew each other, having sailed with them on other company vessels at one time or ano­ ther. Many were from Newfoundland and Cape Breton, and they hadn't seen each other in quite some time. Several parties ensued while the fresh water transfer was made. The chief cook's cabin on the MINER was the largest on the vessel, and also had the best stocked bar. By mid-afternoon, the cook's cabin was full of merrymakers. No evening meal was served on the HIGHLANDER or the MINER that day. When the water transfer was completed, the MINER sailed for San Diego, California, and the HIGHLANDER proceeded to Panama. The MINER went to the Southwest Marine Shipyard at San Pedro, where her condenser was replaced and a major boiler retubing was undertaken. When she returned to service in September, she was placed on a run from New Orleans and Houston, hauling grain to Tampico, from whence it was trucked to Mexico City. Special bins were constructed at Tampico so that the MINER could unload directly into the storage facility without the necessity of mooring in Tampico's overcrowded docking areas. It is related that, on a run from New Orleans to Tampico with grain, the MINER had problems unloading at Tampico and therefore spent a lot of time in port. The desalinator didn't ge­ nerate enough heat, and so bacteria built up in the drinking water to the point where the crew got sick. They had been told they didn't need passports on this trip, so no one could bail out and just leave. So they replaced the drinking waster with beer or pop! Another heater soon was added in the desalination tank and the bacteria problem was resolved. One problem that could not be resolved, however, was the tendency of both the MINER and ONTARIO POWER to roll heavily when at sea, and this problem remained with them to the end of their days. The MINER proved so successful in the grain trade that Mexican interests (Naviera Mazahua S. A. de C. V. ) finally bought the ship in 1983 and renamed her (d) MAZAHUA. Part of the ra­ tionale for selling the MINER was the commissioning of ULS' newest deep-sea seIf-unloader NELVANA, built at Hyundai, Korea, and launched on December 4, 1982. Despite the sale, the former MINER remained associated with the ULS fleet as the operator was Mar-Bulk Shipping, the off-shore ULS subsidiary, managed by another affiliate, Barber Steamships, of Hong Kong. She was registered in Port Vila, Republic of Vanuatu (New Hebri­ des Islands). ONTARIO POWER (renamed THORNHILL) and CANADIAN HIGHLANDER (renamed CITADEL HILL) also were reflagged to Vanuatu. Spotted at New Orleans in April of 1984, MAZAHUA was noted as being without her unloading boom, although the frame and elevating machinery were still in place. In fact, the boom had collapsed overboard as MAZAHUA was unloading at Tampico, and it never was replaced, thus limiting any further usefulness of the ship. At the time, MAZAHUA's basic stack colours were noted at the time as red and black, but the ULS diamond had been replaced by a light blue circle with a thin white edge. Inside the circle were two white, back-to-back, right- angled triangles, placed so that they looked like the sails of a single-masted yacht when seen in profile. In an address to the International Shipmasters' Association at St. Catharines on February 15, 1985, J. D. Leitch, chairman of ULS International Inc., discussed the problems beset­ ting the Canadian lake shipping industry. One of his comments was that "some shipyards and owners", in attempting to regain their competitive edge, had built dual-purpose ocean- lakers, but that such ships had proved costly to operate. In particular, he said "I doubt if you will see any more of these vessels outside the Great Lakes". The January 1987 issue of "The Scanner" reported the end of MAZAHUA. On December 12, 1986, it was reported that MAZAHUA had been sold to U. S. interests, as is/where is at Tampico, for dismantling at Brownsville, Texas. The price quoted was $92 per light ton displacement, making the sale price U. S. $950, 912. 00. Preparatory to the scrap sale, the ownership of MAZAHUA reportedly had passed to Southway Voyage C. V., Mexico. Resold shortly thereafter to Taiwanese Shipbreakers, MAZAHUA sailed for the Far East and, on April 18, 1987, she was anchored at Honolulu, en route to Taiwan. Her near-sistership ONTARIO POWER (renamed KALLI), was sold to the same breakers and was in the Panama Canal on March 13, bound for Kaohsiung. MAZAHUA arrived there on May 27 and KALLI arrived on June 9, and both subsequently were dismantled. Their careers had been short but eventful. * * *

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