Ontario truck ferry project moving forward

The idea of launching a truck ferry between Oswego and Hamilton, Ontario, is slowly coming to fruition and could materialize by 2008. “We had a meeting two weeks ago with Marine Link (the company that would operate the proposed truck ferry), the Coast Guard, customs officials, and the Department of Homeland Security. This is a very feasible project, and likely to begin in 2008 if all goes well,” said Jim Cloonan, port operations manager in Oswego.

Although the proposed ferry is still in its early stages, progress has been made since August. In mid-December, the Port of Hamilton Authority spent $17.5 million to acquire adjacent Lake Ontario waterfront property to make way for a terminal for the proposed cross-lake truck ferry.

Bob Armstrong, head of Marine Link, said that things have gone past the planning stage and into the design portion of the project. “We’re at the stage where we have designed the ship and have a route mapped out,” Armstrong said. Two ferries would make one round trip each day, Monday through Saturday along the 146-mile route. According to Armstrong’s estimates, it would take the ferry, carrying 100 to 120 trailers, approximately 12 hours to travel from Hamilton to Oswego.

While the route and the ship’s design have already been made, Armstrong said that there are a few kinks, such as public policy issues, that need to be addressed before the service could begin. He explained that customs issues as well as harbour maintenance issues were currently being discussed with officials in Washington. “We’re working with customs and Homeland Security right now,” Armstrong said. “We’re going to lobby in February, and hopefully the necessary changes will be made to public policy.”

Despite minor policy issues, Armstrong was confident that the truck ferry service will launch within the next two years. “If we get those issues taken care of, we’ll be up and running by the fall of 2007, or the spring of 2008,” Armstrong said.