''Dartmouth III'' is a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

that served the Halifax–Dartmouth route in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

from 1978 to 2016. After the ferry was retired, it was put up for auction, and bought by a

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

company for service in Toronto.

Specifications

The vessel has two passenger decks, with a small bridge deck above. She has a capacity of 390 passengers. She is propelled by

Voith Schneider A cyclorotor, cycloidal rotor, cycloidal propeller or cyclogiro, is a fluid propulsion device that converts shaft power into the acceleration of a fluid using a rotating axis perpendicular to the direction of fluid motion. It uses several blades wi ...

system.

Halifax service

In 1980 fans of the rock and roll band,

April Wine April Wine is a Canadian rock band formed in 1969 and based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Led by singer-guitarist-songwriter Myles Goodwin since its inception, April Wine's first success came with its second album, '' On Record'' (1972), which reac ...

, overcrowded the vessel, following a concert. Passengers described frightening overcrowding, and finding the extra weight made the vessel seem unstable. During the ten minute trip to Dartmouth the fans caused $20,000 worth of damage. Service was suspended and those left at the ferry terminal had to walk across the bridge crossing.

Toronto service

After she was put up for auction the ferry was purchased by the Toronto Island Transit Service, for $100,000. The plans are for the ferry to operate under a charter, beside the ferries owned by the City. The vessel was sold for $100,000, by a company that runs an amusement park on Toronto's Centre Island. She started a $500,000 refit, and was expected to begin service in Toronto during the 2018 summer season, but has not been put into service.

References

External links

* {{commonscat-inline, Dartmouth III (ship, 1979) Ferries of Nova Scotia Ferries of Ontario 1979 ships