Provided is a vitreous silica crucible which has a special region for suppressing vibration of melt surface during pulling of a silicon single crystal and at the same time, a marking capable of accurately monitoring a changed position of the melt surface when passing through the special region. A charge assembly receivable within the barrel includes the charge holding structure and first and second end caps that are rotatably interconnected to the charge holding structure and non-rotatably interconnected to the barrel. Pads for commandaddress signals are arranged on the third side, thereby increasing layout space for bond fingers for the data signals and achieving uniformity in wiring for data signals. The maintenance station comprises a maintenance roller having an elastically deformable contact surface and an ink removal system for removing ink from the contact surface when the maintenance roller is rotated.