People disembark a ferry at Wards Island on the Toronto Island, in Toronto, on July 30, 2020.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail
Toronto police and Transport Canada are investigating a passenger ferry crash at the city’s terminal dock over the weekend that injured 17 people.
The cause of the collision was still not known on Sunday. But the city announced that ferry service between its downtown terminal and the Toronto Islands, a popular tourist destination, would be operating on a modified schedule for the remainder of the summer.
“City staff will continue to work with Transport Canada, Toronto Police Services and the Harbour Master’s Office while the investigation is carried out,” the city’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation division said in an e-mailed statement to The Globe and Mail.
“The city’s top priority is to protect the safety of the public, passengers and staff by ensuring that our ferry vessels meet Transport Canada safety standards and have required certificates.”
That certification includes the annual Transport Canada safety and security certificate that was issued on June 21, 2022, and the engine and transmission inspection that was last issued on Aug. 10, 2022, the statement added.
The collision occurred just after 5 p.m. local time on Saturday when the ferry, named the Sam McBride, struck the dock as it approached the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal located in the city’s downtown core.
About 900 people were on board the vessel. Seventeen were injured as a result of the collision, police said. Of those, 12 were treated and released on scene. Five people, two of them children, were taken to hospital for further treatment.
“None of the injuries are considered life-threatening,” Toronto Police Service spokesman David Hopkinson wrote in an e-mail on Sunday.
No one fell into the water as a result of the collision.
The Sam McBride ferry, meanwhile, was taken out of service after the incident.
“While in service, the Sam McBride had six trained and qualified staff on board as per Transport Canada requirements – a marine captain and mate in the wheel house, and engineer in the engine room and three deckhands on deck,” the city’s statement added.
Transport Canada did not provide comment on Sunday.
The city announced on Twitter that its passenger ferry service would operate on a reduced schedule, with only three ferries operating between the terminal and Toronto Islands. Two of those boats are passenger-only vessels and one will carry both vehicles and passengers.
The city is discouraging unnecessary vehicular transport by ferry and warning passengers that they should expect longer waiting times – a potential boon for local water-taxi services.
Pirate Taxi, for instance, saw an immediate spike in business after the ferry crash and expects that upswing to continue over the coming weeks.
Peter Sutherland, a water-taxi captain with Pirate Taxi, said his first thoughts after the accident were to check if everyone aboard the ferry was okay. But then, he had to turn his attention to serving an immediate 20-per-cent increase in passengers as people looked for alternative ways to get back to the city.
The company’s eight taxis were very busy throughout Saturday night and transported customers past 1 a.m.
“We and the other taxi companies were already pretty near capacity,” said Mr. Sutherland, who said Pirate Taxi is considering an increase to staffing or its hours of operation as a result of the crash.
“We expect to see more volume now, particularly during the week.”
One of the city’s most popular tourist attractions, Toronto Islands attracts about 1.5 million people each year, while a typical summer day can draw crowds of up to 20,000 people, according to the city’s website.
“We haven’t found that there has been much disruption due to the reduced [ferry] schedule,” Lori Kirk, a spokeswoman for the Centreville Amusement Park located on Centre Island, said on Sunday.
With reports from The Canadian Press
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