The motor vessel Nanticoke (sailing as Salarium since 2009) was launched on December 18, 1979, at Collingwood Shipyards, Collingwood, ON, for Canada Steamship Lines Inc. She was strengthened for ocean service and was considered to be of the Nova Scotia/St. Lawrence-class standards. Measuring 730′ x 75′ 8″ x 46′ 6,” she was powered by two Crossley-Pielstick diesel engines producing 9,000 h.p. She had a mid-summer draft capacity of 35,100 tons.
Canada Steamship Lines is known for its vessel utilizations and experimentations, and during the Nanticoke’s maiden year of service she took part in the first-ever direct unloading of coal to a deep ocean-going ship while at sea. This was considered a success, and CSL continues to actively use their vessels to discharge coal and iron ore cargos on the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Canso Straits.
Nanticoke made history again during the 1997 navigation season as she and two other sister ships, the Atlantic Huron and Atlantic Erie, participated in one of the most complex and challenging projects ever taken on by Canada Steamship Lines. The Hibernia Challenge called for CSL to directly deliver magnetite ore into an offshore drilling platform for ballasting the rig to the ocean floor. The project called for 411,000 tons of the dense material to set the giant caissons firmly to the seabed off the coast of Newfoundland. The three ships were fitted with a Dutch-designed operating/discharging system where the magnetite had to be mixed with water to form a slurry. Her forward most cargo hold was used specifically to house the added machinery and pumps and a special discharge unit was attached ahead of the bow.
Nanticoke, Atlantic Huron and Atlantic Erie each made four round trips from an exclusively built ore dock in Newfoundland to the Hibernia platform, taking an average of 12 days to complete the trip. The three CSL captains and officers received advanced ship handling techniques and training while utilizing simulators due to often volatile sea conditions in the northern Atlantic. On August 13, 1997, the Nanticoke delivered the last load of magnetite to the project, and the specially designed equipment was removed from all three vessels and each returned to their Great Lakes/Seaway trades. The Hibernia oil rig was expected to produce up to 150,000 barrels per day and has a storage capacity of over 1,000,000 barrels.
In April 2009, Nanticoke was chartered by Societe Quebecoise D’Exploration Miniere, Ste-Foy, QC to replace Algoma Central’s Sauniere, which they had under charter from 1982 until her retirement in March 2009. Nanticoke was fittingly renamed Salarium in Montreal (meaning a ‘payment made in salt’) and deployed to carry salt between Iles-de-la Madeleine (Magdalene Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence) and Quebec ports along the lower St. Lawrence River as well as Great Lakes and East Coast ports. She occasionally maked trips to the upper Great Lakes to load coal and iron ore when not required on the salt run.
Canada Steamship Lines announced in mid-2020 that SALARIUM had been retired. She was towed out of Montreal October 27, 2020 by the saltwater tug THOR l bound for the shipbreakers at Aliaga, Turkey. The tow arrived on December 5 and cutting began shortly after.
Written by Todd Davidson.
| Ship Particulars | |
| Length | 730′ 00″ (225.51m) |
| Beam | 75′ 11″ (23.14m) |
| Depth | 46′ 06″ (14.17m) |
| Midsummer Draft | 32′ 0″ (9.75m) |
| Unloading Boom Conveyor Length | 250′ (79.2m) |
| Capacity | 35,100 tons |
| Engine Power | 10,700 bhp diesel |
| Previous Names | |
| Nanticoke | 1979 – 2009 |
| Salarium | 2009 – Today |