Funds requested to scrap ex-passenger ship/museum Norgoma

Sault Ste. Marie, ON – City council will be asked Monday to earmark $395,000 from a reserve
fund to scrap the M.S. Norgoma, which has been rusting for almost five years at a private berth
near Algoma Steel.

If councillors agree, the cost of decommissioning the 188-foot former package freighter/
passenger ferry/ museum ship will be paid to Purvis Marine, which has asked the city to waive
$5,000 to $8,000 in landfill fees associated with disposal of non-ferrous materials, including
contaminants.

From 1963 to 1974 the Norgoma was a car ferry, running between Manitoulin Island and the
Bruce Peninsula. Since 1975, it’s been on the Sault waterfront, operating as a museum ship and
raising concerns about the condition of the ship and its viability as a business.

In 2019, exasperated city councillors voted to evict the Norgoma from the berth it had occupied
for four decades, to allow a dock-replacement project. The ship was towed to a slip leased by
Purvis Marine at Algoma Steel, where it remains at a discounted berthing rate of $40 a day.

City staff have made numerous attempts to find a home for the vessel with many different
proponents, says Tom Vair, the citys deputy chief administrative officer for community
development and enterprise services.

Two agreements for the sale of the vessel were entered into (The Sweet Shop, Tobermory; Jeff
Dwor, Port Colborne) but neither proponent was able to conclude the agreement. Vair says in a
report prepared for Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and city councillors.

Staff have had discussions with a number of other proponents to try and find a home for the
vessel since these agreements were terminated but none of the groups expressing interest have
been able to move forward.

This is largely due to the cost of relocating the vessel, costs of refurbishment, ability to find a
suitable location to dock the vessel and the requirements of host municipalities to provide funds
in escrow should the vessel need to be decommissioned.

Staff also explored the option to scuttle the vessel for a dive site. In discussions with experts in
the field, it was advised that the Norgoma would require extensive environmental work to ensure
the vessel is clean of oil and other contaminants.

The probability for a viable solution appears to be very low at this point and it is not
recommended to incur further expenses for insurance and docking fees, Vair said.

Soo Today

Work continues on carferry Badger’s dock

LUDINGTON, MI – Work continues on the replacing the carferry dock and its counterweight
structures. Mild late fall weather has likely helped to progress the work.

On July 21, the counterweight structure on the port side of the Ludington dock failed, which
rendered the apron ramp non-operational and caused an abrupt end to the Badger’s 70th season.

Nobody was injured in the incident and neither the ramp itself nor did the Badger sustained any
damage.

In early November, Lake Michigan Carferry received the final permits required from the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers to start rebuilding the dock infrastructure necessary to operate the SS
Badger.

The King Construction Co., of Holland, Mich., and Underwater Construction Corporation, from
its regional office in Michigan, have been working on the extensive below-water work while Al
Bufka Construction of Grant Township has done demolition work of the port side counterweight.

Company officials anticipate the work will be completed before the Badger’s 2024 sailing season
in early May.