MARQUETTE, MI – (Great Lakes Radio News) – A longtime fixture on the Keweenaw waterway and Lake Superior that has carried passengers and supplied fuel to Isle Royale National Park for over 50 years can continue to operate.
Under a provision authored by Michigan Senator Carl Levin in the Coast Guard reauthorization bill, the National Park Service’s vessel, The Ranger III, will be able to continue supplying diesel fuel and other supplies to the island park on Lake Superior.
The provision grants a Park Service request for a waiver from requirements that vessels carrying oil as cargo be double-hulled. The Houghton-based Ranger III has transported fuel, supplies and passengers to Isle Royale since 1958.
The waiver exempts the vessel from the double-hull requirement, allowing the ship to continue its current operations. The measure has been approved by both houses of Congress and now goes to the President for his signature.
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