Page 29: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 1971)

Ferryboat Sugar Islander Undergoes

Modifications At Soo Dry Dock Company

The ferryboat Sugar Islander, owned and operated by Wellington Transportation, shown returning to service after having been lengthened and widened by the Soo Dry Dock Co.

Soo Dry Dock Company, Sault

Ste. Marie, Mich., recently deliv- ered to Wellington Transportation

Company the rebuilt and length- ened double-ended ferry Sugar Is- lander. The vessel was in the ship- yard for a total of 55 days. The job included cutting the ferry amid- ships and the insertion of a 20-foot midbody. Also the car deck was widened by the construction of 18-inch sponsons on each side. The conversion increased the ferry's capacity from 9 to 12 cars. This was the first lengthening project undertaken by Soo Dry Dock Co.

After the ferry was cut in two, it was pulled apart 20 feet and the frames and deck beams of the mid- body were placed and welded. The bridge, originally amidships and 20 feet off center after lengthening, was then skidded 10 feet forward so as to be centered and widened to correspond to the new main deck. In order not to increase the length of the drive shafts, bearings, etc., the ferry was cut in two be- tween the engines, which remained in each original half in the same respective positions.

The Sugar Islander operates on a route 1,500 feet long on the St.

Mary's River, from Mission Point ferry dock in the city of Sault Ste.

Marie, to Ferry Landing on Sugar

Island. This area is miles be- low the famous Soo Locks. The ferry's route crosses the main steamship channel between Lake

Superior and Lake Huron. Year- round service is maintained by the ferry's owners, the Wellington

Transportation Company. This is the northernmost 12-month ferry operation in the United States.

Ferry service to Sugar Island began in the mid-1920s. Observant vacationers to the North Country had found Sugar Island ideal for summer cottages, fishing, and gen- eral recreation. With this popular- ity, the ferry service grew to the extent that in the 1940s the Road

Commission of Chippewa County,

Mich., decided to operate its own ferry.

The Sugar Islander was built in 1947 at Sault Ste. Marie by the

Lock City Machine and Marine

Company for Chippewa County.

Since then the vessel has been modified several times and in 1961 it was acquired by its present own- ers, the Wellington Transportation

Co. of which Capt. James D. Well- ington is president, Capt. John P.

Wellington is vice president, and

Charles P. Wellington is secretary- treasurer.

Soo Dry Dock Co. was estab- lished in 1963 as a subsidiary of

Soo Welding Co., owned by the

Fabry family, and has built up a reputation for excellent marine re- pair service in the northern Great

Lakes area. A steel scow was con- verted and altered into a 110-foot by 40-foot drydock. This dock lifted its first hull, the Sugar Islander, in

April 1963. Since then, all types of commercial, service, and private pleasure craft up to 800 gross tons have been lifted.

The recent lengthening of the

Sugar Islander was done under the supervision of Arthur Fabry. Sta- bility calculations and other tech- nical details were worked out by the College of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Univer- sity of Michigan, of which Prof.

Harry B. Benford is chairman.

Drawings were prepared by Rev.

Edward J. Dowling, S.J., professor of engineering graphics, University of Detroit.

New Appointments At

Shipcraft Agency, Inc.

Arne Larsson, president of Ship- craft Agency, Inc., New York- based general agents for Caribbean

Trailer Express Line, has an- nounced several appointments to

Shipcraft's staff at New York.

These appointments will enable the firm to better serve their principals and shippers and care for the in- creased freight carryings which

Caribbean Trailer Express Line has been experiencing in its direct, weekly trailership service between

New York, the Dominican Repub- lic, and Jamaica.

H. Stuart Clarry, formerly with

Black Diamond Lines, has been named manager of operations for

Shipcraft Agency, Inc. Mr. Clarry, a 30-year veteran in the maritime industry, has served in both oper- ating and chartering capacities dur- ing that time. His new duties will include full supervision of Ship- craft's operations at New York and all Caribbean ports.

Eugene Mazzuckis, formerly with Norton, Lilly & Co. at New

York, has been named freight sales representative and brings with him many years of experience in the

Caribbean trade.

Carlos E. Ducruet, formerly with Baez & Rannek, Santo Do- mingo steamship agents, has been added to Shipcraft's New York staff to offer experienced and im- proved service to C.T.E.'s Domini- can Republic importers and ex- porters.

Caribbean Trailer Express Line employs two modern, 15-knot trail- erships in this service, the Carib- bean Venture and the Caribbean

Enterprise. All of C.T.E.'s services are operated from Pier 12, Port

Authority Terminal, Foot of Wol- cott Street, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Two additional roll-on/roll-off vessels now building in Germany and England, will be delivered in 1971. These new, as yet unnamed ships, with a speed of \7l/2 knots, will be capable of carrying ninety- three 40-foot trailers or, alterna- tively, fifty-two 40-foot trailers, plus seventy-six 40-foot containers.

They will also offer space for heavy equipment, automobiles, machin- ery, and other out-sized equipment.

Esso Signs Contract

With A.G. Weser For 250,000 Ton Tanker

A contract has been signed be- tween Esso Tankers, Inc., an affili- ate of Standard Oil Company (New

Jersey) and A.G. Weser Shipyard for the construction of a 250,000- dwt tanker.

The tanker will be built at the

A.G. Weser Shipyard in Bremen,

Germany, for delivery December 30, 1974, with the following ap- proximate measurements: length, 1,141 feet; breadth, 170 feet, and draft, 65 feet 5 inches. Operating speed is 16 knots.

The ship will be propelled by a 31,550 shaft horsepower steam tur- bine and will be used in Esso's fleet in international tanker service.

Serving the

Gulf Coast

Since 1880

BL

H

BAY-HOUSTON

TOWING CO.

CORPUS CHRISTI • TEXAS CITY

GALVESTON • FREEPORT . HOUSTON

February 1, 1971 31