After a decade of talk, Toronto finally places its order for two all-electric ferries with a cost of $92 million

The City of Toronto is finally greenlighting a $92-million electric ferry order to transition its aging Toronto Island Ferry service to zero-emission.

The plan is over a decade in the making.

Home to a small neighbourhood and the city’s largest park, Toronto Island is currently served by a ferry fleet of four primary vessels and one heritage attraction, ranging between 50 to 100 years old — well beyond the industry average.

Together they transported more than 1.4 million Toronto Island residents and visitors, 5,000 cars and countless bicycles last year. That is an increase of 250,000 passengers above five years ago.

A long journey

New, cleaner ferries in Toronto (called the ROPAX and PAX models) have been a long time coming: City Council first began looking at the issue in 2013 and made a commitment to replacing the aging diesel-powered ferries in 2015.

Originally, Toronto intended to replace the four ferries with hybrid diesel-electric technology. Over the next several years, as maritime electrification technologies advanced and the city adopted its TransformTO Net Zero Strategy to reduce GHGs, Council committed instead to zero-emission propulsion.

Replacing the existing fleet of diesel ferries with electric is expected to result in a reduction of 2,800 tonnes of greenhouse gases annually, the equivalent of pulling 600 cars from the road.

It was in 2022 that the city announced a plan to purchase two all-electric ferries. At the time, the estimated price for both was $63 million. This did not include the estimated $40-million cost of building new shoreline infrastructure and charging capacity at the existing docks 

In July this year, City Council approved a revised price tag for the boats of $79 million, the increase largely due to changes in specifications and inflation. On top of that. Council approved an $11.6 million contingency fund. Even at this cost, the electric models will end up coming in cheaper than diesel ferries would over their service lives, largely due to long-term operational savings in fuel and maintenance costs.

Construction to begin

The ferry building contract with Damen Shipyards Group of The Netherlands was signed in September, with construction slated to begin in late 2024 or early 2025 at their facilities in Romania. Designed by Quebec-based Concept Naval, a naval architecture firm, they will pay homage to Toronto’s historic ferries while boasting the latest tech and increasing passenger capacity.

Both ferries will be 50 metres long and 13 metres abeam, one is designed to transport passengers and motor vehicles; the other is passenger-only. The electric ferries will be replacing the current Ongiara and William Inglis.

As yet, no other information about the ferries (battery size, range and charging time) is available.

In a recent press release, Damen’s product director for ferries, Henk Grunstra said, “The City of Toronto is taking a big step forward for reduced-emissions public transport …. Fully electric vessels represent an ideal solution for a short route such as this one, within easy reach of charging infrastructure.”

When the ferries arrive (they are slated for late 2026 or early 2027) they will join another electric ferry in Toronto Harbour. The all-electric MV Marilyn Bell 1 ferry has been carrying pedestrians and vehicles to Billy Bishop Airport since 2022. Range there is not a problem: the 90-second trip covers just 121 metres.