House flags of Canadian Shipping Companies (page 5)

This entity has a symbol of its own briefly shown on the Algoma website's introduction (under 'Performance').

The symbol unites the Upper Lakes and Algoma logo's. What appears to be a flag is really that, see Boarners.

From the Seaways website:

Seaway Marine Transport is a partnership of Algoma Central Corporation and Upper Lakes Group, Inc. (...) Seaway Marine Transport represents a merger of two prior partnerships of Algoma Central Corporation and Upper Lakes Group Inc. called Seaway Self Unloaders and Seaway Bulk Carriers. These partnerships have been in existence since 1990, in the case of Seaway Bulk Carriers and 1994, in the case of Seaway Self Unloaders. The merger of the two partnerships and the creation of Seaway Marine Transport was effective January 2, 2000.

Jan Mertens, 1 October 2005

Another of the – once very numerous – Great Lakes shipping companies was the Soo River Company which existed 1975-1982.

Also known as Pierson Steamships (in fact controlled by Robert Pierson Holdings Ltd), Soo River started out by buying old ships – bulk carriers – from different firms, transporting for instance grain and cement.

The firm took a dynamic start but in 1982 all nine ships were placed in receivership and bought by P&H (Parrish & Heimbecker) Shipping of Mississauga, Ontario.

I could not find very much on this firm, based in Thorold (or was it Toronto?), Ontario; sources are very disparate. In any case, a number of photos shows the house flag:

• Boatnerd
• wellandcanal.ca
• mhsd.org

The house flag is a swallowtail with a broad black stripe near the hoist and the rest of the field white, within a narrow black border (leaving a small stripe of white between it and the broad black stripe); in the centre of the white field is a black shamrock.
Jan Mertens, 25 October 2005

From Boatnerd, a Toronto based concern, third row, third picture.

Red swallowtail bearing a small black diamond, edged white. The vertical axis of this diamond seems to be situated at 1/3 of flag’s length. It is also shown in action.

From the firm’s website, being expanded (‘About Us’ section):

We own a fleet of dry bulk cargo vessels that sail on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway System. Our vessels are capable of handling a vast array of dry bulk commodities and are managed by SMT Services, our partnership with Algoma Central Corporation. We also operate an articulated tug-barge unit that is especially constructed to carry liquid asphalt and other petroleum products. (…) We own a group of companies that provide various services from shiprepair and shipbuilding to fuel bunkering and industrial repair acitivities outside of marine industry.

And from another missionterminal.ca:

(…) Upper Lakes Group Inc. was started in 1932 with the purchase of an old freighter, which was used to move grain from Thunder Bay, Ontario to Toronto, Ontario. Today, Upper Lakes Group (ULG) own eighteen vessels which move grain throughout the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway.

Jan Mertens, 17 September 2005

Flag horizontally divided red-white with a big V counterchanged white-red in the middle.

Source: Josef Nüsse
Ivan Sache, 25 August 2002

---

In 1995 they relocated to Canada (from Hong Kong) and changed name to Valles Steamship (Canada) Inc.
Neale Rosanoski, 23 January 2003

This new firm is an affiliate of McKeil Marine, its company seat being Ridgeville, Ontario. Currently it operates one ship - a rather old one at that - bought from another firm, and is readying another one for the spring of next year.

The company website features an ‘M’ initial as the logo.

Boatnerd's page is dedicated to the bulk carrier that has become the Maritime Trader (maiden voyage under that name, 2 Oct. 2005) and following (clickable) pictures show – not very clearly, however – the house flag: Image 1 Image 2

Apparently it is white with small vertical blue borders and the italic ‘M’ initial in the centre, also in blue.
Jan Mertens, 30 October 2005

1946-1963

The house flag of the Western Canada Steamship Co. is shown at cabinclass.com, on a bowl:

A white swallowtail bearing a red St George’s cross and a green maple leaf in the upper hoist. Site's source: (quote) Brown's Flags and Funnels by Philip Wedge.

Founded following the end of the Second World War, this freight company took advantage of the surplus of Canadian war-built “Park” class ships. With home port being Vancouver, the WCSSCo. vessels were a familiar sight in Vancouver and a number of other BC ports, loading cargo such as timber for the Asian and European markets. (…) In 1963, the WCSSCo. became the Anglo Canadian Steamship Company. This coincided with the retiring from service of the last “Park” class ship used by the WCSSCo.”

(...) merely concerned the funnel. The maple leaf on the bowl is less elaborate than this one which rather resembles that on the current national flag.

Jan Mertens, 7 July 2005