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aged considerably. ee .in London. 'tons of: ore. ARGOES for Great Lakes' vessels are scarce with the result that many boats are coming down the lakes light. Early grain shipments are about over and the number of bottoms in the market makes available more ton- nage than is required for moving ore. Recently two large vessels were ordered 'down light and it is predicted that un- ess there is a change in the ore move- ment many ore carriers will have to dock until the situation improves. -Orders for ore will have to be placed 'more freely to keep the big fleet busy and to permit it to transport sufficient ore before the heavy fall grain move- 'ment puts a.severe tax on the capacity of the Jake fleet. Coal is moving about 'as fast as it will at any period of the season. Ce x ow oe : The wooden: barge Burma, Montreal, 'which was in tow of the steam barge 'Stmta of the Montreal Transportation Co., struck the west pier while enter- ing Port Dalhousie harbor, recently, tearing a hole in her bow. After pro- 'ceeding approximately 200 feet into the harbor, the Burma sank. 'The concrete pier where the vessel struck was dam- ee Ok 'The steamer Compton has been floated by Captain Hickley,' Oswego, N. Y., and has been taken to Ogdensburg, N. Y., for repairs. The Compton was running light when she grounded on a shoal near Butternut bay, seven miles west oc . Brockville, 'last fall. "She was abandoned to the underwriters and later purchased by her original owners. * ok * M. E Farr, president of the Amer- ican Shipbuilding Co. has returned from.Europe where he opened an office ek Ok The steamer America, of the Booth 'line, went ashore at Chicago bay re- cently in a fog but after lightering part of her cargo she released herself. It is reported that the vessel was not dam- aged to any extent as she was moving slowly when she struck. x oe x The tug Hunxey, one of 10 building for the Emergency Fleet corporation, at Superior, Wis., has made a_ success- ful trial trip and has left for tidewater. ok _ The N. B. Ream made a recent load- ing record at Duluth when she docked and got away again in three hours and forty-five minutes. She took on 11,889 This is said to. be the best loading time ever made at Duluth. * %* %* The steamer Copa Grove, built for the Emergency Fleet corporation, was given a trial trip at Duluth, recently, 'So far, the government has * : : nL rH Fil @ @., @ @ h ' Aetivities in the S : Latest News from Ships and Shipyards it and after having her compasses ad- justed she left for the coast. cok Ge? There are 260 government ships to be commissioned this season on the Great Lakes and the shipping board recruiting service states that there is an acute shortage of seamen to man these crait. At the present time, government vessels are being put in commission on the lakes at the rate of approximately 10 a week. eNO Improvement of: the Livingstone chan- nel, which was delayed by the war, has been resumed by the government. At 'its narrowest point, the' channel is now 300 feet wide but fo: .a distance, of about four miles, to make it 'conform to the rest of the channel, this will be increased to- 450 feet.: It is estimated by government experts that-two years will be required to complete the job. appro- priated $750,000 for the work but it is estimated that the complete undertaking will cost approximately $3,000,000. *K Dy 3 The wreck of the steamer TEMPEST, at Erie, Pa. is being removed under the supervision of United States engineers 'and the wreck lights have been dis- continued. OK Cleveland inspectors Silas Hunter and D. A. Curran are at Montreal, and F. J. MeCary and' .¢.. A. Watson <are at Sydney, N. S., inspecting steamers for the Emergency Fleet corporation. Ke The bow section of the steamer FRONTENAC was towed from Erie, Pa., to Quebec, Que. by the Great Lakes Towing Co.'s tugs Grorcia and T. C. Lutz. The stern section of the steamer, 'which was at Buffalo, has also been -towed to Quebec. The steamer wii be put together and taken to tidewater. CK. kK .The American steamer LAKE PLACID, Out in, 1917. at. Detroit, hit a sub- -merged mine off the Island of Vinga near Gothenburg, Sweden, and sank in five minutes. All on board got away in safety. The Lake Pracip registers 4200 tons and, while owned by the government, was under consignment to the Atlantic Transport Co. for opera- tion. She left Baltimore with a cargo of coal consigned to Gothenburg. Rk The steamer J. G. Wattace' which collided with the J. S. Morrow off Eagle river, Lake Superior, was not damaged to any great extent. She will -be repaired at Cleveland. a The steamer Sonoma which ran aground in the north entrance of Buf- falo river, has had repairs completed 356 nT 'performance of duties LNT pe aH] = OU UAUOUUA LOLOL \re Scarce at the Buffalo drydock. It was found necessary to replace 27 plates. She is now in commission. pias B® The steamer ANDASTE while shifting to the Pittsburgh No. 7 coal dock at Duluth, for fuel, ran into the stern of the steamer CoLoNEL, damaging her steering gear and denting some plates. ~ ee The steamer B. R. Berry, while shift- 'ing to the coal dock at Lorain, O., while partly loaded, hit the bank and damaged her rudder. She was docked for re- pairs. a The package freight lighter Apetz, which has been stationed at Duluth for the past 10 years, was towed to Buffalo by the steamer DeLtaware. She will be used to transfer light freight in Buf- falo harbor. The ApDELE is owned by the Great Lakes Transport Corp. * 3K K With the object of relieving masters, mates, engineers and pilots of steam vessels from the necessity of taking out licenses for each season, Congressman. Louis C. Cramton, Republican, of Mich- igan, has introduced a bill providing that licenses be issued for life. It is pro- vided, however, that licenses may. be revoked or suspended on evidence of negligence, unskillfulness, inattention to duty, intemperance, or wilfull violation of the navigation regulations. The ac- cused is to be allowed a hearing, to be represented by counsel and to testify in his own behalf. The bill further provides that no officer shall be subject to draft in time of war, except for the named in_ his license. ee The steamer Capittac of the Cleve- land-Cliffs line recently picked up a power boat in Lake Huron about 25 miles off shore from Petosky, Mich. The power boat, which was 26 feet long, was without fuel. The three men aboard, Henry Barber, Alexander Gain and George Smith, all of Cheboygan, Mich., had tried to hail several passing vessels without success. Finally, how- "ever, the Capmziac sighted them and ran alongside, picked them up -and towed them: to the entrance of the Soo river. OR _ The steamer A.-M. Byers which was in collision with the Joun B. Cow Le in ihe St, Clair. river, was docked . 2 Ecorse, Mich. for repairs. The following recommended drafts have been posted by the Lake Carriers' association: For Lake St. Clair, Vidal shoals, Fairport, Ashtabula and Corn- Neamt, 20 teet; Buffalo, 20 feet te Lackawanna, Rogers-Brown, Pennsyl-