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Richard Reiss inbound at Milwaukee in 2004. (Andy Laborde) PA SSA GES Changes in the shipping scene since our last edition Fl ri Shippers enjoyed a robust year in 2004, thanks to an ee S improving economy and rising water levels. Five vessels & Vessels that had been inactive for varying periods of time returned —_————— to service in 2004. On the Canadian side, Algoma Central's straight-deckers Algontario and Algoisle both resumed trading, the former after having considerable work done on her hull to repair bot- tom damage from a 1999 grounding. Upper Lakes Group's Canadian Ranger also reentered service after a stay at Port Weller Drydocks. The U.S.-flagged Buckeye was back in action last fall, thanks to a demand for ore pellets, and there's a good chance her Oglebay Norton Marine fleetmate Courtney Burton, which has also been in layup, will return to duty this season. The World War Il-era motor vessel Richard Reiss also returned to service in 2004, under the flag of the Grand River Navigation Co. She sails this year as Manistee, a rename that for the first time in almost 100 years means there will be no vessel sailing the lakes honoring a member of the Reiss family, once prominent in shipping circles. Another steel industry merger late last year saw the creation of Mittal Steel Co.,a multinational giant formed in part by the purchase of the International Steel Group, with works at Burns Harbor, Ind.,and Cleveland, and Ispat International, which has mills at Indiana Harbor, Ind. At press time, the effect of the merger on ISG’s two 12 KYS ‘05