Replica model of Lady of the Quays, Toronto’s new electric ferry.

TORONTO, ON – Toronto’s inner harbor won’t have a Boaty McBoatface shuttling passengers to and from the islands when the first new ferries in 60 years finally arrive at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal. After a months-long naming process that drew nearly 18,000 public votes, the city’s new fully electric vessels have officially been dubbed Lady of the Quays and Toronto Islander.

On Thursday, Mayor Olivia Chow and Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik (Spadina-Fort York) unveiled two 1:50 scale replica models of the new ferries, celebrating a major milestone in modernizing the city’s aging waterfront fleet.

The two winners were selected from a shortlist of 13 names drafted by city staff and waterfront stakeholders to “reflect the city’s waterfront, natural environment and enduring connection to the Island,” per a city news release. The multilayered naming process also required approval from Transport Canada.

Winning the public ballot with 15 per cent of the vote, Lady of the Quays is a dual-purpose vessel that will carry both passengers and vehicles. At full capacity, it can handle 14 vehicles alongside 650 passengers — or 1,300 passengers without any vehicles.

Coming in second with 11 per cent of the vote, Toronto Islander is a dedicated passenger vessel that will carry up to 1,300 people per trip. Other naming contenders that didn’t quite make the cut included Cloudbreaker, Harbour Swan, Water Strider, and Island Chickadee.

The current ferry fleet is well past due for a replacement. About 1.4 million people visit the Toronto Islands each year, relying on workhorse vessels like the over 90-year-old William Inglis, which carries nearly 400 passengers, and the over 60-year-old Ongiara, which carries 216. Another ferry, the sidewheeler Trillium, laid up at Hamilton last year.

Built by the Dutch shipbuilder Damen at a facility in Romania, the new ferries are currently in their final stages of construction. Lady of the Quays is expected to be delivered in late 2026, while the Toronto Islander won’t be ready until 2027.

Even after the first ferry is delivered later this year, it won’t hit the water for public use immediately. The vessel must first undergo several months of rigorous lake testing and commissioning.

Though passengers will have to wait to step aboard the new ferries, Mayor Chow detailed a slate of shoreside upgrades rolling out this summer to improve the commuting experience. Visitors can finally ditch physical tickets and pay directly at the docks using Google Pay and Apple Pay, though officials still recommend paying online ahead of time to avoid longer lines.

The city is also installing new digital screens at the terminal to provide up to date, real-time information on when the next boat is arriving. To make the actual boarding process smoother, enhanced queueing systems and designated waiting areas are being added to improve the flow of foot traffic

Toronto Today
Watch a video here.

CLEVELAND, OH – The U.S. Navy officially commissioned the USS Cleveland (LCS 31) into active service on Saturday, May 16, during a historic ceremony on the downtown Cleveland, Ohio lakefront. The Freedom-variant littoral combat ship is the fourth vessel to carry the city’s name and the first U.S. Navy warship ever commissioned in the state of Ohio.

USS Cleveland at her namesake port. [SDunn Aerial Photography]

Following the celebrations, the USS Cleveland is slated to be homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, where she will carry out maritime security, deterrence, and near-shore operations.

LCS 31 is the fourth ship to be named in honor of the city of Cleveland. The first was a cruiser (C-19) commissioned in 1903 that served during World War I. The second was the lead ship of her class of light cruisers, USS Cleveland (CL-55), which earned 13 battle stars for its service during World War II. The third was the Austin-class amphibious transport dock, USS Cleveland (LPD 7), which served from 1967 to 2011, providing critical support during the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, and various humanitarian missions.

Wath a video of the christening on Facebook here.

Drone view of the renovated Carbide Dock.

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI – The Carbide Dock had seen better days. The port and industrial site on the St. Mary’s River had been built in the late 19th century. Ownership was transferred from Union Carbide to the City of Sault Ste. Marie in 1962. “The dock was in very bad, ill repair because the last time that they had done anything was in the 1920s, 1930s,” says City Engineer David Boyle. “So, it was falling into the river.”

By 2016, things had gotten bad enough that the U.S. Coast Guard condemned the dock. “One of the things that we were probably criticized for most was lack of access to our great waterfront,” says Mayor Don Gerrie. “They were mad about the sinkholes, obviously.”

Redeveloping the multifunctional site, which includes a deep-water port, a freshwater education and research center, and a waterfront park, was a $39 million lift that took years, with funding from and coordination between federal, state, and local agencies.

“It’s probably the largest project that the City of Sault Ste. Marie has had,” says Gerrie. “It had the most involvement and the most help. And we can’t even articulate how pleased and happy we are.” Nearly a decade in the making, the revitalized Carbide Dock is the City of Sault Ste. Marie’s entry for the 2026 Community Excellence Award.

The city secured a federal TIGER grant of $21 million through the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2017, launching the project into its planning phase. “By 2020, most of the design work was done for it,” says Boyle. “We bid it out in 2020. Of course, that was Covid. It came in extremely over budget—double what we had money for. We made a lot of adjustments and cut some things back, and then we went and rebid it again. We were still over budget, but a tolerable range to get going.”

SmithGroup, an Ann Arbor–based firm, led the way on design. As the project proceeded, the Michigan Department of Transportation contributed funds for things including demolition, while the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) helped pay for engineering work. “Senator [John] Damoose got us about $5 million,” says Gerrie. Boyle rattles off even more sources: “The Department of Wildlife gave us money for all our trees and shrubs. An EGLE grant for our shore power through the Volkswagen Trust Fund – that helped us put all the shore power for the boats and charging stations that we have down there right now.”

He continues: “We had brownfield money. There were huge buildings in there, but they left all the foundations, so that helped us dig a lot of those out and get rid of them.” Engineers extended the dock face slightly outward and installed steel sheet piles driven roughly 65 feet to bedrock.

To spruce up Alford Park, the City received funds from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, including a Michigan Spark Grant. Alford Park now offers residents and visitors lighted walkways, an inland pond, dock space, and fishing access along the waterfront. “It’s a place for people to go,” says Gerrie. “I noticed last weekend when we had prom here, there were a bunch of families with their daughters and sons taking pictures on the waterfront, in our new park area.”

The development of Alford Park included collaboration with the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians. “They have fishing rights,” says Boyle. “And they have nowhere available on the waterfront to do that. So, we partnered with them.”

Nowadays, the Carbide Dock is what Gerrie describes as, “A good meld of commercial, industrial, residential park area – an educational component, too.” The Carbide Dock is also home to the Center for Freshwater Research and Education, operated by Lake Superior State University. The Center works with the U.S. Coast Guard on freshwater spill research and Great Lakes environmental studies. Wetland drainage areas built into the park are used for research projects.

The commercial port handles bulk shipments, including salt deliveries used throughout the eastern Upper Peninsula during winter. “As we grow and as we get bigger, there is a pad there where we can put a crane so we could offload package ships, big metal containers, and other products, too,” says Gerrie.

“It brings together a lot of different elements for one project,” he says. “It’s multi-dimensional.”

Tourism has been positively affected, too. Sault Ste. Marie expects 65 cruise ship visits during the 2026 season, up from 56 the previous year. During the ribbon cutting ceremony in June 2025, one of the largest Viking cruise ships operating on the Great Lakes was docked behind the stage. “A nice, rainy U.P. day,” laughs Gerrie.

Gerrie considers the Carbide Dock project to be a rousing success. “Everyone has been very positive about it, very energized,” he says. “We have a city of 75,000 in Canada across [the border] from us. We took them to the site, and they raved about it. They said that we have the best waterfront around.”

“And just – you know – it’s been great to see people pull in and park, go down, and watch the ships go by.”

Michigan Municipal League

This story comes from the Wisconsin News Collaborative, a partnership of Wisconsin public media newsrooms, including WUWM, Wisconsin Public Radio, and WXPR.

Water levels on lakes Michigan and Huron had their largest surge for the month of April since record-keeping began in 1918, the quick rise driven by snowmelt and heavy rains. Water levels soared by a record 13.4 inches on the lakes last month, said Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of hydraulics and hydrology for the Detroit District office for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. That’s triple their average rise of 4.3 inches in April. “The lakes are typically rising in the spring due to rainfall and snowmelt runoff, but obviously we hadn’t seen a rise of this magnitude,” Kompoltowicz said.

Lakes Michigan and Huron are treated as one since their water levels rise and fall together because they’re connected at the Straits of Mackinac. The previous record for the month took place 75 years ago in 1951 when water levels rose close to 10 inches. The surge came as the Upper Midwest, including Wisconsin, saw its wettest April on record. The region saw twice the normal amount of precipitation. Wisconsin smashed the previous statewide record set in 2008 by more than an inch with an average of 6.53 inches of rain last month.

All of the Great Lakes saw substantial increases in water levels, but none had record increases for the month except for lakes Michigan and Huron.

Lake Superior saw its second-highest rise in water levels for the month of April due to very wet weather and significant snow pack. Water levels climbed 7.1 inches last month or more than double the average rise of 3.1 inches for April. The increase fell short of the record rise of 11.4 inches set back in April of 2000.

While lake levels rose fast, overall water levels are near average. “Anytime you see, you know, these very large rises, that could potentially cause some alarm, but we’re not anywhere near record highs. We’re not anywhere near record lows,” Kompoltowicz said.

Except for Lake Ontario, all of the Great Lakes are within 2 inches of their seasonal long-term average despite recent surges in water levels. As of May 6, Lake Ontario was more than a foot above average at 247.18 ft. Water levels on Lakes Michigan and Huron were at 579.10 ft. Lake Superior is sitting at 601.57 ft. Levels on Lake Erie reached 572.11 ft.

For this time of year, Lakes Michigan and Huron last swelled to a record high in 2020 when water levels were nearly three feet higher. The record low for the beginning of May was set back in 1964.

Meanwhile, it’s been 40 years since Lake Superior reached a record high for this time of year. At the beginning of May, the lake last dropped to a record low 100 years ago.

Over the next six months, lakes Michigan and Huron, as well as Lake Superior, are expected to remain within two inches of the long-term average.

Wisconsin Public Radio

A vessel unloading at Hamilton. [Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority]

Municipal leaders from Canada and the United States attended the annual meeting of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative in Hamilton last week discussing the potential of marine shipping on the Great lakes.

“We have less than 50% of the capacity that can be handled by the St. Lawrence River,” said Jonathan Altenberg, the president and CEO of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.

Mayor Andrea Horwath says Hamilton is part of the “Fresh Coast Economic Corridor,” the third-largest economic region in the world, generating $9 trillion USD in economic activity. She says strategizing with stakeholders in the region helps the city, including the possibility of relieving congestion on highways like the QEW and Highway 403.

“If we can take trucks off the roads by putting cargo into containers, and onto ships, we also increase our road capacity,” Horwath said at the conference.

But will moving to more marine shipping actually take trucks off the road? “The short answer is yes,” Elkafi Hassini, associate dean of research at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, said. But he cautioned the shift would not happen quickly.

Hassini, whose research focuses on supply chain management, said marine transport already has major advantages for bulk goods like steel, grain and sugar. A single vessel can carry the equivalent of “hundreds of truckloads,” he said, potentially removing significant freight traffic from highways. “It’s cheaper to ship on sea generally, and it definitely lowers emissions,” Hassini said.

That could matter in Hamilton, where truck congestion has become a growing concern for residents and city officials.

Ian Borsuk, executive director of Environment Hamilton, said heavy truck traffic reshaped parts of the city over decades. “People often forget Hamilton was not a one-way street city for a very long time,” Borsuk said. “A lot of those changes were implemented to accommodate truck traffic.”

He pointed to the city’s recent truck route reboot — which restricted large trucks in some residential neighborhoods — as evidence residents want fewer heavy vehicles moving through local streets. “I think most Hamiltonians would be pretty pleased to learn there’s a possibility that at least some of that traffic is going to be diverted elsewhere,” he said.

Despite the environmental benefits, both Hassini and Borsuk said marine shipping still faces practical barriers. Hassini said companies generally choose transportation methods based on three factors: cost, reliability and speed. While shipping by water is often cheaper and produces fewer emissions than trucking, it can also be slower and less predictable.

“When you have your truck, it’s very easy — get a full track load [and] it departs,” he said. “With rail or vessel shipping, you need enough volume for it to economically move.” That means companies may have to wait longer for cargo to fill ships before they depart, Hassini said — a difficult tradeoff for businesses operating on tight delivery schedules.

Road shipping also remains more flexible, particularly for “last mile” deliveries directly to stores, warehouses or customers.

Hassini believes Hamilton’s location gives it major long-term potential as a marine shipping centre. He pointed to the city’s port, airport and highway connections, as well as its proximity to Toronto and the northeastern United States. “We have an excellent location,” he said. “Most of the population in North America is within close reach.”

One possibility, he said, would involve moving cargo arriving overnight at John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport to the port, then distributing it around Lake Ontario by barge instead of trucking everything onto the QEW and 403. “If we can move even 20 per cent or a third of that through the lake, that will have an impact,” Hassini said.

But he said making that system work would require new terminals, coordinated shipping schedules and significant public and private investment. He compared the vision to European cities, particularly in the Netherlands, where barges regularly move freight between ports and urban centres. “We don’t have the infrastructure,” he said.

Borsuk said reducing truck traffic could lower noise pollution in Hamilton neighborhoods. During the pandemic, he noted, reduced vehicle traffic also noticeably improved Hamilton’s air quality. Still, Borsuk said increasing ship traffic also raises environmental concerns because the Great Lakes are both a transportation corridor and the source of drinking water for millions of people.

“Lake Ontario is where our drinking water comes from,” he said. “We want to make sure we’re not reducing one problem and creating another.”

He pointed to Hamilton Harbour’s long industrial history and ongoing cleanup efforts as a reminder of what can happen when economic growth outpaces environmental protections. “We’ve put significant time and effort to remediate the harbour,” Borsuk said. “We need to make sure we don’t undo the work.”

Still, he said the broader direction makes sense if done carefully. “If we can find sustainable ways of transporting goods that gets these high-polluting vehicles out of neighbourhoods, away from schools and parks, I think a lot of people will see that as positive,” Borsuk said.

Hassini said any major shift toward marine freight would likely take years, and depend on governments, ports and private companies working together.

But with growing congestion across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, he believes pressure is mounting to explore alternatives. “Not any one player can force modal shift,” he said. “We need to make it competitive.”

By Jeffery Tram, CBC Hamilton

DULUTH, MN – The Twin Ports Ministry to Seafarers held its annual Blessing of the Port ceremony May 14 at the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center in Canal Park.The event marked the beginning of the busy Great Lakes shipping season, bringing together community members, maritime officials, and shipping representatives. The ceremony included remarks on the opening weeks of the shipping season, followed by a traditional blessing for the crews and vessels traveling through the Twin Ports this year.

“It really highlights the reality of what this port is, that it’s it is the ships coming in, but it also is a way in the prayers that we had, it’s recognizing the multitude of people that are part of this whole shipping industry,” said Rev. Douglas Paulson, executive director of the Twin Ports Ministry to Seafarers.

Organizers say the annual tradition is meant to recognize the important role the Twin Ports play in Great Lakes shipping while welcoming this season’s sailors and travelers.

FOX 21 Duluth-Superior

Listen to the story here.

Alpena arriving at Green Bay early Thursday morning. [Jon VanDyke]

WLUK

SUPERIOR, WI – A ship that’s been part of Superior’s history since 1896 is celebrating a birthday this Sunday and welcoming everyone aboard – though it isn’t sailing anywhere. “It’s called a whaleback because it sits really low in the water, especially when it’s full of cargo,” explained Jordan Stish, manager of Superior Museums, which includes the 130-year-old SS Meteor. “The rounded hull of the ship resembles a whale breaching for air in the water.”

Meteor is celebrating her 130th birthday Sunday. [Roger LeLievre] View gallery images by clicking on the headline.

The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Robin Washington: Is the Meteor still a working ship and can it haul taconite in case one of the ore boats needs some help?
Jess McCullough: It is no longer a floating vessel. When the city of Superior bought the boat to be a museum back in 1969, they dug a channel into Barker’s Island and floated the boat into it and filled in the channel with sand and backfill. So the boat is actually sitting on land. It’s no longer seaworthy.

RW: What made the design special and innovative for its day?
Jess Stish: The whaleback design is one of the most unique maritime shipping designs that’s ever really been created. Whaleback ships sit very, very low in the water. If you look at photos of the meteor when she was full of cargo in the middle of the Great Lakes, all you can really see are the smokestacks and the pilot house. The entire cargo hold and the hull are submerged under the water.

JM: The reason that the Meteor is the last one in the world is because most of the whaleback ships were either scrapped or they sunk. Whaleback ships were being run over by other ships because they were so low in the water and other ships could not see them. And so that’s why a lot of the whaleback ships are at the bottom of the Great Lakes today.
RW: That leads to its history and exploits. Where did the Meteor work?

JS: The Meteor went all over the Great Lakes. She stayed in fresh water, though. The furthest she went out was around Buffalo, New York.
JM: She was involved in the war effort when she had her second wreck. She probably would have been scrapped at that time. However, the demand was so great that she was retrofitted for carrying oil.

RW:  There were a couple of close calls. What happened?
JM: There was one up on Isle Royale.
RW: Everybody has a close call up there.
JM: Yeah. That was in 1905. There was a snowstorm and she ran aground. That second was the one during the war, in 1942, off the coast of Manistique, Michigan.

RW: You’ve been spiffing it up for the birthday celebration. What does that entail?
JS: The Meteor has come a very long way since she officially opened as a museum in the early 1970s. We’ve had to convert the cargo hold into exhibit space and do the bare bones work of turning a ship into a building. As we prepare for her 130th birthday, we’re just trying to give her a little bit of a refresh to make sure that she looks her best. We’ve also been getting the exhibit space ready with new exhibits, and getting ready to open the SS Meteor Bar, which we’ve been calling Superior’s best kept secret.

RW: Bars in Superior are not quite a secret.
JS: No. But we have lots of fun projects just to make sure that the Meteor looks her best. We’re sharing the history in the way that is the most respectful to the long history of the folks who have worked on the ship and continue to restore her.

Read the story and view images here:

Algoma Celebration prior to launching in China.

Algoma Central Corp. reported strong 2026 first-quarter results on May 7. Key drivers included higher product tanker demand and increased domestic dry-bulk volumes, including increased de-icing salt volumes due to colder winter conditions and improved international tanker rates.

“During the quarter, we delivered on our priorities and welcomed the Algoma Celebration to our ocean self-unloader fleet,” said Gregg Ruhl, President & CEO of Algoma Central Corp. “Demand is strengthening across the Great Lakes and East Coast, with capacity in place to meet it. Internationally, rates are strong and many long-term contracts are in place. With the 2026 navigation season well underway, I want to wish all our crews safe passage. Thank you for continuing to deliver the raw materials essential to industries and businesses across both Canada, United States, and around the world.”

Algoma Celebration is a sister ship of Algoma Legacy, which was handed over to Algoma in September 2026. Both ships were built in China by Jiangsu Yangzi-Mitsui Shipbuilding. The newbuild has an LOA of 229 metres, a beam of 32.26 metres, a draught of 14.4 metres, a depth of 20.15 metres, and a summer deadweight of 80,000.

Visit https://www.algonet.com/investor-relations/ to view full interim results and www.algonet.com/news-and-media/ to view a press release.

Algoma Central Corp.

LUDINGTON, MI – The Lake Michigan carferry Badger came alive Tuesday when her boilers were lit for its 71^st sailing season. The vessel’s first official trip is scheduled for May 15, departing from Ludington for Manitowoc, WI.

A flaming corn broom is used to light the Badger’s boilers. [Lake Michigan Carferry]

Watch a Facebook video here: