Business · Toronto electric ferriesToronto electric ferry reaches Istanbul, with Canadian arrival expected in DecemberWritten November 6, 2026 at 1:28 AM UTCWatchTranscript0:07A tug brought the new electric ferry to Istanbul.0:10Toronto plans to use it to replace part of an aging fleet serving the islands, but0:15an ocean shipment and preparations for passenger service still lie ahead.0:21What has to happen before island passengers can board?0:24Lady of the Keys can carry up to six hundred and fifty passengers and fourteen0:29vehicles.0:29It's the first of two fully electric ferries Toronto is buying.0:34The city unveiled its name, alongside the second vessel's name, Toronto Islander,0:40on May fourteenth.0:41The completed ferry has finished the tow from its Romanian shipyard.0:45In Istanbul, workers must load it aboard another ship for the voyage to Canada.0:50The Atlantic crossing is still ahead.0:53The city expects Lady of the Keys to arrive in Canada in December2026.0:59Toronto Islander is due sometime in early twenty twenty-seven.1:03Those are delivery expectations.1:05Each ferry still needs preparations in Toronto before it can carry passengers.1:10Abi Thomas, Toronto's general manager of fleet services, described the transport1:16plan.1:17The carrying ship will take the ferry through the Mediterranean and across the1:21Atlantic, then into the waterways leading to Lake Ontario.1:25From Istanbul, the planned route crosses the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.1:30The ship then heads up the St.1:32Lawrence River to Lake Ontario.1:34December's expected arrival in Canada leaves the final delivery to Toronto still to1:39follow.1:40Thomas said residents will be able to track the journey online once it begins.1:44The immediate step is loading and departure from Istanbul.1:48After delivery to Toronto, each ferry must complete lake trials and crew training.1:53The city posted a video of Lady of the Keys being launched in late May.1:57Launching the vessel was an earlier construction milestone.2:00The lake trials will test it on the water where it will work.2:03While crews prepare to operate it, about one point four million passengers cross the2:08Inner Harbor on the existing ferry service each year.2:12Its four ferries were between sixty-one and ninety years old.2:15At the November update, the new vessels are intended to replace two of them.2:20The replacement program leaves part of the existing fleet in service.2:25William Inglis is among the two ferries due to be replaced.2:29For island passengers, the program concerns the reliability of their connection, as2:34well as the move to electric propulsion.2:36Council chose hybrid diesel electric propulsion in twenty eighteen, then switched to2:41fully electric vessels in twenty twenty-two.2:44In twenty twenty-four, the city selected Dutch shipbuilder Daman for the two ferry2:49contract.2:50The procurement effort had begun more than a decade before this delivery update.2:54Damon's contract covers construction, delivery, commissioning, and3:00warranty.3:01Commissioning means preparing the vessels to operate.3:04Transporting a finished ferry to Canada completes one stage of that work, with3:10operational preparations following its arrival.3:13Councillors learned that staff hadn't accounted for charging infrastructure at the3:18Jack Leighton ferry terminal.3:20That discovery came more than a year after the Damon contract was signed.3:24Electric ferries also need the shoreside equipment that supplies their power.3:30Oversight of the ferries subsequently moved from parks and recreation to fleet3:34management.3:35The city hasn't said whether the charging work is finished.3:38That leaves another preparation to resolve alongside the vessel's delivery and3:42testing.3:43William Inglis lost propulsion and struck a wharf in twenty twenty-three, injuring a3:48crew member.3:49That accident is part of the safety history behind the replacement effort.3:53Another crash the year before exposed shortcomings in how the city managed ferry3:59safety.3:59Sam McBride crashed in twenty twenty-two, injuring several passengers.4:04The Transportation Safety Board later found the city's safety protocols had been4:09lacking at the time.4:10That history gives the remaining trials and crew training practical consequences for4:15passengers and workers.4:17Before either new ferry carries the public, it must reach Toronto, complete lake4:22trials, and have trained crews ready to operate it.4:25The length of that testing period is still unclear.4:29The city hasn't set a date for passengers to board either new ferry.Read the articleStory timelineHeyDex
