REASON AINE BE OR nn aE OO TE eM aD, SUA Activities in the Latest News from Ships and Shipyards al MH \dvance in Vessel Insurance HUONUUTAUVUA UU 2) ALUATION (of: steel lake ves- \ sels for insurance purposes has increased 5 per cent, or from $56 to $60 per ton. The valuation was also increased $5 for 1918. Rates for hull insurance, however, have not been increased, according to Willcox Peck & Hughes, marine insurance un- derwriters, Cleveland. Underwriters were under heavy expense during last season due to the high cost of re- pairs. Notwithstanding this factor, the decision to make no advances in insurance on hull. or cargo rates has been decided upon. The hull rate will be 33% per cent and the rates for protection and indemnity and _ dis- 'bursement insurance will be the same as for the past season. No change has been made in the form of policy. Cargo rates on coal and ore will be 7%4 cents per 100 tons, which is the | same as last season's rate. The bulk of insurance on lake vessels will be carried by American firms this year. Some shifting will be done at Lake Erie ports and few ships that car- ried insurance sailed before April 15. ee" Capt. S: B:) Massey, "master Gf the: steamer D. R. Hanna, left for Port McNicholl on April 7 to bring the ves- sel to Cleveland for repairs. ee The ice was carried out of Che- quamagon bay on April 6. A south- east gale practically cleared all ports on the south side of Lake Superior of ice. The floating fields were driven among the Apostle islands into the open lake. ; xo oe On April 5,a heavy rain weakened the Soo which had_ gathered. ice at the during the previous week owing to floating ice being jammed in Hay lake and frozen by the zero weather. The lightship CLover = started out to place -- light buoys recently but was forced to discontinue on account of ice. With the help of tugs, she was detailed to break out the ice in the canal entrance which is now clear.. ~ a The G. Watson FrencH, which win- tered at Fort Brady pier, Sault Ste. Marie, received her annual inspection and has taken on her crew. 4 Steamer No. 487 building for the Emergency Fleet corporation, was launched at the Cleveland yard of the American Shipbuilding Co. on April The company expects to have 45 vessels ready to leave for the Atlantic seaboard at the opening of navigation. ee The municipal dock at Ashtabula, purchased some years ago for $12,000 and since that time rented to private concerns, for $350 a year, is to be put to the use for which it was intended originally if tentative plans of the cham- oo WWW Completes Stormy Passage HEN the lake-built steamer. : Roman docked at Philadel- plia on March 20, she completed one of the most eventful voyages made across the Atlantic this' year. Commanded by. Capt. Robert M. York, she sailed from Devenport, England, and was 30 days overdue. For three days she wallowed help- less in the trough of a heavy sea with coal and provisions running short, steering gear disabled and a cargo of steel rails broken loose which threatened to punch holes through her skin. As a. climax to these dangers, two mine sweepers which were lashed on the forward deck, broke loose. The RoMAN came in from Ber- muda in tow of the British Mon- ARCH, which vessel picked her up 250 miles northeast of Bermuda in response to wireless calls. For 50 days the Roman battled with the elements. Heavy weather set in on Feb. 9 soon after the craft had left the Azores where she had put ix for coal. Gales came from the west, northwest and southwest accompa- nied by heavy seas. At times the list gage registered a list of 49 de- grees. After. the steam steering gear was disabled two seamen were detailed aft to handle the hand steering gear. A-heavy sea pooped the ship, stunned both men and washed them into the lea scuppers. Other mem- bers of the crew grabbed the wheel and ground the spokes hard over, just in time to prevent the vessel . broaching to. 'On Feb, 22 the coal ran short, which made it necessary to fire on wood, the supply being obtained from spare spars; hatch covers and dunnage. In this manner steam was kept up to operate the steam steering gear which had been tem- porarily repaired. Then the cargo of rails broke adrift and in spite of the heavy sea that was running, the second officer and several seamen succeeded in restowing the cargo to | 'prevent it wrecking the vessel. the Great Lakes last season. to ~t =e liz & presses [ISN Ce EX QQ THUUIULUUUNH ULLAL ber of commerce and city officials of Ashtabula are carried out. It has been pointed out that barge lines through the extension of the Lake Erie barge canal would touch at Ashtabula, pro- vided suitable docking facilities were available. that the dock would be of value in handling comparatively small package freight. The , possibility of passenger lines making Ashtabula harbor a. stop- ping place has also been mentioned. a oe ; The freight and passenger steamer Arrow, of Sandusky, O., has been com- missioned for the season to ply between Sandusky and Lake Erie islands. The vessel makes daily round trips between the islands and Put-in-Bay. Ko eo Tugs QO. A, SEMAN and =i 2 Lutz, of the. Great Lakes Towing Co., arrived in Cleveland from Buffalo re- cently. OO President Livingstone, of the Lake Carriers' association, has been advised by the Canadian department of marine and fisheries that at the opening of navigation four wooden spar buoys, one red and three black, will be established by the department in 25 feet of water to mark the dredged channel leading to the Richardson elevator at Port Arthur, Ont. x OME Three of the new steel barges re- cently completed by the Ferguson Steel & Iron Co.,. Buffalo, for the barge canal were recently used for lightering wheat from the Dellwood elevator to the Washburn Crosby mills at Buffalo. The barges held 18,000 bushels of wheat -- each. -C. S. Hawkins, constructing en- gineer for the barge canal, and Merton L. White, general western canal agent at Buffalo, observed the operations and commented favorably on them. Mr. White stated that he expected to see the canal open for operation by May 1, at which date there will be 28 of the new steel barges in commission. eee At the Buffalo assembly rooms, there are more lake sailors ready to sign © -on than there has been for many sea- sons previously. Among them are many young men just out of the army and navy, all of whom are anxious to ship on lake vessels. Numbers of the boys just out of the naval service have had some experience on training ships and several of them served as apprentices on Vessel owners predict that there will be a sur- plus of men for the lake fleet. , : ek * Capt. Henry Fish, who celebrated his ninety-fourth birthday in September and who far 57 years was a sailor and vessel master on the Great Lakes, died at St. Clair, Mich, on March 30. Death was due to the infirmities of old age. | He first sailed on the steamer Huron, It has also been suggested -