Thomas Rennie (ferry)

For the Toronto Harbour Commissioner, see Thomas Rennie (Harbour Commissioner).

Thomas Rennie in 2025
History
Name	Thomas Rennie
Namesake	Thomas Rennie
Owner	City of Toronto
Operator	Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division
Port of registry	Toronto
Builder	Toronto Drydock Co. Ltd., Toronto
Cost	CA$250,000
In service	1951
General characteristics
Type	Ferry
Tonnage	424  GT 274  NT
Length	39 m (129 ft)
Beam	10.08 m (33 ft 1 in) [1]
Draught	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) [1]
Depth	2.71 m (8 ft 11 in) [1]
Decks	2
Installed power	900  bhp (670 kW)
Propulsion	2 × Caterpillar D353 diesel engines [2]
Speed	10.3 knots (19.1 km/h; 11.9 mph) [1]
Capacity	901 passengers [3]

Thomas Rennie is a Toronto Island ferry operated by the Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division of the City of Toronto government. ^[4] She entered service in 1951, the most recent of the three ferries that bring visitors to the Toronto Islands during the summer months. ^[5] She was named after a former member of the Toronto Harbour Commission.

History

Entering service in 1950, Thomas Rennie was built by the Toronto Dry Dock Company Limited. ^[6] The ferry cost CA$250,000. It was built to replace T. J. Clark, which was then transferred from passenger service to freight service. ^[7] She was designed to carry 980 passengers. ^[1]

In 1953, Thomas Rennie ran aground at Hanlan's Point in fog. In July 1954, the vessel crashed into the city wharf when it failed to reverse, injuring two passengers. ^[8] In 1958, when water levels were low, Thomas Rennie ran aground at Centre Island. A police launch was able to pull Thomas Rennie free. ^[9]

In 1959, while a maintenance worker tested its engines, Thomas Rennie moved slowly out of its Queen's Quay dock, unpiloted. She went out 91 metres (100 yd) into the harbour, and made a slow arc to the west, crashing into the wharf at the Terminal Warehouse. The boat's controls had been left in the 'dead slow ahead' position. The ship suffered minor hull damage and was repaired by Toronto Dry Dock. ^[10]

In 1965, Thomas Rennie had a stack fire when its engines overheated. The fireboat William Lyon Mackenzie was able to douse the flames while Toronto Harbour Police evacuated the passengers. ^[11] In 1968, Thomas Rennie crashed into Queen's Quay ferry dock when it failed to reverse its engines. Eight children and four adults were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. ^[12] The collision damaged the dock but the ferry was not damaged.

In 1976, while on a party cruise, a 21-year-old male passenger fell from Thomas Rennie into the harbour. The man spent several minutes in the water clinging to a ring buoy until Harbour Police arrived. He was treated for shock. ^[13]

In 2007, Transport Canada published new passenger vessel regulations regarding damage stability (TP10943) requiring various upgrades to be implemented within prescribed compliance schedules. Thomas Rennie and her sister ship Sam McBride, and William Inglis were also modernized under a life extension program while a fleet renewal process was undertaken. A series of technical submissions to Transport Canada from the city's naval architectural engineering consultants took place through 2016. These technical submissions supported Transport Canada's risk assessments that considered the ferry's operations and environmental limits. Ultimately, Transport Canada approved Thomas Rennie and Sam McBride to be able to carry a total passenger complement of 915. ^[14] In October 2012, Toronto City Council decided that funds should be set aside to replace Thomas Rennie and her two fleetmates with new vessels. ^[15] Replacement costs were estimated at CA$8 million per ferry. ^[3]

In April 2024, Thomas Rennie strayed off course in dense fog near Hanlan's Point and ran aground in the marine exclusion zone (MEZ) at Billy Bishop Airport. The MEZ exists to prevent airplanes operating at the airport from colliding with tall ships such as the three-storey ferry. No passengers or crew were injured. In May 2024, the ferry was taken to dry dock to repair the rudder. She returned to service for the Canada Day long weekend that same year. ^[16]

See also

• Ongiara
• PS Trillium
• Sam McBride

References

1. "Vessel: Thomas Rennie". Canada Transport Agency. June 28, 2011. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
2. "Marine Investigation Report M97C0054 - Transportation Safety Board of Canada". October 19, 0199.
3. Niamh Scallan (July 5, 2012). "Toronto Islands ferry passenger limits eased". Toronto: Toronto Star. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2015. Although the new passenger limits kicked in this spring, the trouble with Toronto's aging ferry fleet began in 2008 when Transport Canada ordered the city to upgrade three boats — the William Inglis and Sam McBride, both built in the 1930s, and the Thomas Rennie, built in 1951. ... But what Transport Canada failed to tell parks staff, he said, was that the upgrades could cause the boats to lose their grandfathered status, which exempts the aging vessels from current marine safety standards.
4. Larry Partridge (March 1976). "Toronto Island Ferry History: The Modern Fleet: 1935 - 1960" . Retrieved March 14, 2003.
5. Chris Bateman (October 7, 2012). "Explaining Enwave, Ford's Jarvis figures, Island ferry names, and classic council clashes". BlogTO . Retrieved April 30, 2015. A former Toronto Harbour Commissioner, Rennie lived long enough to see the vessel christened in his honour. He died the next year aged 84.
6. Know Your Ships 2017. Marine Publishing Co. Inc. 2017. p. 41. ISBN   978-1-891849-22-0.
7. "Subway Lifts Limelight From New Super Ferry". The Globe and Mail. July 27, 1950. p. 5.
8. "Ferry Hits Dock, 2 Persons Hurt". The Globe and Mail. July 29, 1954. p. 4.
9. "TTC Ferry Runs Aground in Harbor 'Pea Soup' Fog". The Globe and Mail. October 11, 1958. p. 4.
10. "TTC Ferry Hits Wharf On Harbor Ghost Run". The Globe and Mail. June 4, 1959. p. 1.
11. "Fireboat Tends Blaze on Ferry". The Globe and Mail. November 3, 1965. p. 2.
12. "Island ferry strikes dock". The Globe and Mail. May 27, 1968. p. 5.
13. "Man Rescued After Falling From Ferry". The Globe and Mail. June 18, 1976. p. 5.
14. Niamh Scallan (July 4, 2012). "New federal marine safety standards force Toronto ferries to carry fewer people". Toronto: Toronto Star. Archived from the original on December 23, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2015. Earlier this year, the federal agency reportedly told the city the three aging ferries were considered "new" as a result of the upgrades and ordered them to comply with current international marine safety standards.
15. 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.
16. "What happened on a Toronto ferry the night it hit Billy Bishop airport property". Toronto Star . February 17, 2025.