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Number of Lake Vessels in Service is Reduced Has the peak of bulk vessel oper- ation on the Great Lakes been reached and is a decline from now on to be expected, without prospects of an up- turn, is now a question of consider- able concern to operators. That there has been a substantial decline in op- eration is clear from the figures for July 15 compared with those for June: 15. There are some, how- ever, who are of the opinion that this decline is only temporary and that an improvement may be expected, be- ginning in September, for the latter part of the season. From figures compiled by C. C. Lindeman of the M. A. Hanna Co. American lake bulk vessels in com- mission on July 15 numbered 190 with a total trip capacity of 1,696,- 000 tons giving a percentage of 57.92 in number and 61.70 per cent in ton- nage of the total fleet available. This shows some decline from the stand- ing as of June 15 when 205 vessels or 62.5 per cent of 1,835,000 tons or 66.76 per cent were in commis- sion. It is a considerably better showing, however, than the standing as of July 15, 1933, when 164 vessels or 49.7 per cent of 1,432,900 tons or 51.86 per cent were in commis- sion. Of the 190 vessels in commission on July 15, 149 were engaged in the ore trade and 41 in other bulk trades. On June 15 of the 205 ves- sels in commission 154 were engaged in the ore trade. A year ago on July 15 of 164 vessels in commission, 116 were engaged in the ore trade. There has been some fluctuation in the number of vessels in commis- sion for the various companies. The following companies on that date were still operating 100 per cent of their available tonnage: Inland, Hutchinson & Co., managers; Cleve- land Cliffs Iron Co.; M. A. Hanna Co.; Reiss Steamship Co.; Valley Camp Steamship Co.; Midland Steamship Co.; and several smaller companies operating from two to four vessels each. Of the larger companies, the Pitts- burgh Steamship Co. had 43 vessels or 50 per cent of its fleet in op- eration on July 15. Interlake Steam- ship Co. had 21 or 42.86 per cent of its fleet in operation. Hutchinson & Co., with a total of 19 vessels, had dropped to 9, or 47.37 per cent, in commission, as compared with 18 or 94.74 per cent on June 15. Bethle- hem Transportation Corp. and Great Lakes Steamship Co., maintained the relative standing of 62.5 and 31.58 per cent respectively of their fleets in commission, these being the same figures as for June 15. Lieut. Col. Dan I. Sultan, corps of eng neers, United States army, who has been transferred to Washington, after two and one-half years as United States district engineer at Chicago, was the guest at a farewell dinner July 17 at the Stevens hotel, in the latter city. Colonel Sultan assumed his new duties as member of the board of army engineers for rivers and harbors at Washington on July 24. He has been succeeded in Chicago by Major Don- ald H. Connolly. Capt. Alvin A. Morrison, whose career and appointment as supervising inspector of the United States steam- boat inspection service for the ninth district were referred to at length in the July issue of MARINE REVIEW, took the oath of office on June 30, 1934, before Federal Judge Jones in the Federal building, Cleveland. The Propeller club, Port of Cleve- land held the first of the three golf tournaments, scheduled during the summer, at the Westwood Country club, Lakewood, O., on June 28. A dinner followed at 7 o’clock. was a large attendance, There Coal Shipments Continue to Show Big Increase Bituminous coal shipments from Lake Erie ports during the present season up to 7 a.m. July 16, amount- ed to 14,445,288 net tons of cargo and 447,627 net tons of bunkers, or a total of 14,892,915 net tons. This is a marked increase over the same period last year and nearly double the movement in the same period in 1932. It is also over three and a quarter million tons more than the movement in the same period pf LOST: Comparing the movement of bituminous coal this year with previ- ous years we find that the cargo coal moved in 1933 in the same pe- riod amounted to 10,848,869 tons and bunker coal 290,448 tons mak- ing a total of 11,139,317 net tons. For the same period in 1932 cargo, bunkers and total bituminous coal shipments were respectively; 7,320,- 118 tons, 179,312 tons, and 7,499.- 430 net tons. For the same period in the year 1931 the figures for bituminous coal shipments in cargo, bunker and total were respectively; TL 15385342 tons: 361 15 tons, and 11,514,493 net tons. The average shipments of bitu- minous coal each week for the four weeks ending 7 am. July 16 amounted to 1,215,475 net tons of cargo and 40,604 tons of bunkers. Anthracite coal shipments on the lakes for the season up to July 1 amounted to 303,103 long tons. For the same period in 1933 the amount was 97,760 long tons. The department of marine, Ottawa, Canada, through KE. Hawken, assis- tant deputy minister, on July 11 is- sued an announcement that until further notice the navigable draft of the St. Lawrence canals has been reduced from 14 feet to 13 feet, 9 inches. Largest all-welded freighter, Dolomite No. 1, designed and built by the Dolomite Marine Corp., Rochester, N. Y. Length Twin screw diesel electric drive. Photograph taken while discharging sulphur at Cleveland, her thirteenth cargo, June 13. This vessel is a self-unloader and was fully described in MARINE REVIEW for overall 213 feet 10 inches, beam 32 feet. September, 1933,and April, 1934 MARINE REviEw—August, 1934 33