Late shipbuilder and philanthropist Luther Blount last spring offered to donate a cruise ship from his American Canadian Caribbean Line to benefit Roger Williams University, Rhode Island College and Boston’s Wentworth Institute of Technology.
Now that the 175-foot M/V Niagara Price has completed its last cruise, RWU today said, its ownership has officially been transferred.
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“Luther Blount was a great friend to Roger Williams and a visionary supporter of our marine science program,” RWU President Roy J. Nirschel said in a statement Tuesday. “I wish he could be here to celebrate, but Luther’s legacy will live on through the University’s work.”
On Nov. 1, RWU said, the three universities took possession of the Niagara Prince, valued at $6.5 million, which will remain docked at Promet Marine Services in Providence until it is sold.
The colleges are to split the proceeds; broker Marcon International of Coupeville, Wash., is working to sell the ship on their behalf.
Blount, who died Sept. 24, was a passionate supporter of shellfish restoration research. He will have a fitting tribute at Roger Williams – the Luther Blount Shellfish Hatchery and Oyster Restoration Center, a 12,000-foot space for the university’s marine science and aquaculture research centers.
“Luther was a millionaire, a brilliant engineer and the holder of countless patents,” Nirschel recalled. “And yet, ‘I always considered myself an oysterman,’ he once told me. ‘It’s a great honor to have a building with my name on it, but I really just want to see the oyster babies produced.’ ”
