Radium Queen (ship)

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Radium Queen

The Radium Queen was a small cargo-tug that operated on the Slave River in Canada. Built in 1937 for the Northern Transportation Company (a subsidiary of Eldorado Gold Mines), it was constructed in Sorel, Quebec, by Manseau Shipyards. The ship was shipped in pieces by rail to Waterways, Alberta, where it was reassembled. Its job was to tow barges around rapids and move ore and supplies between Lake Athabaska and Great Slave Lake. Cargo would be unloaded at a portage, transported by land, and loaded onto barges downstream to be towed by the Radium King and other tugs.

The Radium Queen had a sister ship, the Radium King. The Queen was shipped first and reassembled at Waterways so it could tow the parts for the Radium King downstream, with those parts portaged around the rapids to be assembled lower on the river.

What it was like: about 96 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 4 feet draft, with a crew of about 10. It carried 36 tons and ran on diesel power. It carried IMO number 5288932. The vessel was eventually decommissioned and its registry closed.

Contamination note: A 2005 study by Atomic Energy of Canada looked at the Port Radium mining area. Most Radium Line ships were found clean, except possibly the Radium Gilbert; whether the Radium Queen was contaminated is not known because she had been scrapped.