Port Nelson dredge

Port Nelson was a dredger that served from 1914 to 1924 at Port Nelson, Manitoba Canada.

Port Nelson aground following a storm, c. 1925
History
Canada
Name	Port Nelson
Operator	Department of Railways and Canals
Ordered	1913
Builder	Polson Iron Works, Toronto
Completed	March 1914
Fate	Wrecked during a storm, November 1924
General characteristics
Type	Suction dredger
Tonnage	1,200 tonnes (1,200 long tons; 1,300 short tons)
Length	180 feet (55 m)
Beam	43 feet (13 m)
Draught	6 feet (1.8 m)
Crew	35

History

The Port Nelson at work.

In 1913 Canada's Department of Railways and Canals commissioned the Polson Ironworks, in Toronto, Ontario to build a large suction dredger to help construct what was to be the first port on North America's Arctic Ocean coast—to be named the Port Nelson.^[1] She was completed in March, 1914, and towed to Hudson's Bay, arriving in September 1914, where she promptly ran aground.^[2] A 1924 storm tossed her onto the artificial island she helped create, where her wreck remains today.^[3]

She carried a crew of 35, and was 180 feet (55 m) long, had beam of 43 feet (13 m), a draft of 6 feet (1.8 m), and displaced 1200 tonnes.^[2]

See also

• Hudson Bay Railway
• Seaport of the Prairies