| S.S. Zulia, large suction dredge built in Kure Japan by National Bulk Carriers Kure Shipyard Division. |
Zulia was built for one of the Ludwig group of companies in order to dredge the mouth of the Orinoco River so that the Universe Tankships 60,000 ton ore ships could navigate the river with close to a full load of ore onboard. The large twin screw ore ships, Ore Chief, Ore Transport and Ore Titan were conceived and built before it was realized that they would be unable to carry a full cargo out the river due to the ever shifting sandbars and channels. So Ludwig employed his shipbuilding division to build a large suction dredge to keep things tidy for his large ore ships. He had had some success in this already, as he had converted the old T2 tanker Pan Georgia (ex-Gold Creek) into a dredge to begin the work before constructing Zulia. And he stopped building 60,000 ton twin screw ore carriers.
| Ship | Hull# | Built | GRT | DWT | Length | Beam | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zulia | 87 | 1959 | 15,273 | 13,075 | 548'6" | 95'2" | Large twin screw suction dredge. |
Created by A. Davis Whittaker, Jr.