Sam McBride (ferry)

Sam McBride is a Toronto Island ferry operated by the Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division of the City of Toronto government.[3] The ferry serves the Toronto Islands from a dock at Jack Layton Ferry Terminal in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Sam McBride at Centre Island dock in 2009
History
NameSam McBride
NamesakeSam McBride, 41st Mayor of Toronto
OwnerCity of Toronto government
OperatorToronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division
Port of registryToronto,  Canada
BuilderToronto Drydock Co. Ltd., Toronto
In service1939[1]
General characteristics
Tonnage387 t
Length36.9 m
Beam10.24m
Depth3.36m
Decks2
Capacity915 passengers[2]
Crew6[1]

Construction

The ferry was commissioned in 1939, built by Toronto Dry Dock Ltd.[4][5] Her namesake was a former Alderman and Mayor, who had been the founding chairman of the Toronto Transportation Commission, which at the time the ferry was built, ran the ferries to the island.

As per Transport Canada requirements, the ferry operates with a crew of six consisting of a marine captain and mate in the wheelhouse, an engineer in the engine room and three deckhands on deck.[6]

Operational history

On June 20, 1941, a Norwegian Northrop N-3PB seaplane clipped the second deck of the ferry. The plane was destroyed after hitting the waters, and the two crew members, Instructor Lieutenant Finn Strand Kjos and student pilot Tron Harsvik, on board were killed.[7] Damage was sustained to upper deck and later repaired.

She was transferred from the TTC to Metro Parks and Culture department in 1962 (and by Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division since 1998).

The ship was dry docked in 1973 to replace her engines.[8]

In October 2012, Toronto City Council decided that funds should be set aside to replace Sam McBride and her two fleet-mates, Thomas Rennie and William Inglis with new vessels.[9]

In 2019, there were two incidents where a throttle malfunction prevented the engines from being put into reverse. The ability to put the engines into reverse is needed to slow and stop the ferry as the ferry has no other braking mechanism. With a throttle malfunction, the ferry can still be steered. There were no injuries from either incident, but the ferry was temporarily pulled from service for repairs and testing.[10]

Shortly after 5 PM on August 20, 2022 the ferry hit the mainland dock resulting in 12 passengers requiring medical attention and a suspension of ferry service to the islands for the rest of the day. There were 912 passengers and 6 crew members on board the ferry at the time of the collision. As of August 21, 2022, the cause of the collision was unknown;[1] the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it would investigate the crash. After two days in dock for inspection, Transport Canada cleared the ferry to go back into service.[2] The cause of the 2022 incident was a throttle malfunction affecting both the bow and stern main engines, that prevented the ferry from stopping.[10]

On September 1, 2022, the Sam McBride suffered another throttle malfunction while docking; there were no passenger injuries, but the ferry was again pulled from service. The problem was traced to a software issue. The ferry returned to service after testing.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Toronto Island ferry service resumes - but only partially - after boat crashes into dock". CablePulse 24. August 21, 2022.
  2. "'I've been in car crashes, but it was worse than that': Toronto Island ferry crash rattles injured passengers". Toronto Star. August 22, 2022.
  3. Larry Partridge (March 1976). "Toronto Island Ferry History: The Modern Fleet: 1935 – 1960". Retrieved March 14, 2003.
  4. Know Your Ships 2017. Marine Publishing Co. Inc. 2017. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-891849-22-0.
  5. Chris Bateman (October 7, 2012). "Explaining Enwave, Ford's Jarvis figures, Island ferry names, and classic council clashes". BlogTO. Retrieved April 30, 2015. Christened after a former Toronto mayor and alderman, a long-time Island resident, founder of the TTC, and the first head of council to die in office.
  6. "Investigations begin after Toronto passenger ferry crashed at city terminal dock, injuring 17". The Globe and Mail. August 21, 2022.
  7. "Two Norwegians Killed as Plane Hits Ferryboat". Regina Leader-Post. June 21, 1941. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  8. "Marine News". The Scanner, vol. 5, no. 6. March 1973.
  9. Niamh Scallan (October 1, 2012). "Toronto's aging island ferries headed for retirement". Toronto: Toronto Star. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2015. After spending $5 million for ferry upgrades that had unintended negative consequences, Toronto's cash-strapped parks department is now planning to put aside money to replace the aging fleet altogether.
  10. "Throttle failures on aged Toronto Island ferries led to loss of control, documents show". Toronto Star. November 23, 2022.
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