ST. IGNACE, Michigan (WPBN/WGTU) — Last week, the Mackinac Island Ferry Company, or Star Line, announced that it had suspended operations in St. Ignace.
And now, pending approval from Mackinac Island, the company plans to cease all services next week.
It all started in June when Florida billionaire David Hoffman acquired Star Line after already buying Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry.
Chris Shepler now heads both companies and described the terrible condition of Star Line’s entire speedboat fleet.
“It’s a disaster right out of the box,” Shepler said. “All four engines have been removed, three engines are being replaced. They’re two 12v71 General Motor Detroit diesel engines, which is 1952 technology. Parts are getting harder to find and they’re hard to repair. So we’re going to replace three of those engines.”
And that’s just the Radisson, which is lying in the Marine Services Dockyard along with five other salvaged ships.
In addition to various maintenance problems, there were also environmental problems.
Star Line faced a lawsuit from EGLE over tank farms on both sides of the bridge that held back oil-contaminated water from ships’ hulls.
“In St. Ignace, there are 30 of these tubs in a burned area, with plastic between the tubs and the ground,” Shepler said. “And the reason EGLE has a problem with that is because there is no containment there.”
Some participants in the meeting expressed concerns about employees, but Jenny Gezella, president of Hoffman Marine, said all of Star Line’s year-round employees would keep their jobs and seasonal workers would be compensated.
The suspension must be approved by the Mackinac Island City Council, which has sole authority over schedules and fares.
They have called a special meeting for this Wednesday at 1 p.m. to make this decision.
If the suspension is approved, Shepler said his ferry will accept all prepaid Star Line tickets and all internet traffic will be redirected to Shepler’s website.
