The vehicle ferry from the mainland to Bois Blanc Island (also known as Boblo) was out of service on the weekend but is now back functioning.
The ferry was out from approximately Thursday morning until late Sunday night, with a large crane hoisting it out of the water so repairs could be completed.
Mayor Michael Prue, who lives on the island with wife Shirley, said he took the 10 p.m. ferry home Wednesday night after attending an Essex County council meeting but it was down the next morning.
Prue said residents are not happy with having to go without the ferry again. A 14-day outage occurred in the fall of 2023.
“There’s a lot of frustration and bitterness,” said Prue. "Everyone on the island knows what the issue is."
Prue said residents want a back-up ferry restored. A second ferry was removed from service in late 2023 by Transport Canada.
“There always were two ferries – a regular ferry and a back-up ferry,” he said. “It’s like anything. It’s like a car. Machines break down. You have to have another way.”
There were a series of e-mails sent to residents on the progress of the weekend repairs but Prue said “there’s been no communication about another ferry” with island management.
The mayor said he intends to bring the issue forward at the Jan. 27 town council meeting.
“I don’t intend to bring up anything except the town needs to enforce the idea of a second ferry,” said Pure.
Prue added homes on the island are heated with propane and the propane truck could not access the island last Friday. He said they turned down the heat in their home to try and maximize their propane supply.
“If they come today, we can turn the heat back up,” Prue said Monday morning.
The repairs were mainly to the drive shaft and the rudder, with a dive team having gone under it to try and repair it before the crane was called in.
Messages were left for Amico vice president Cindy Prince with Prince confirming via text message that the ferry was put back into service Sunday night.
In a series of 15 updates sent by the Amherstburg Ferry Company over the weekend, Jeff Rahm kept residents informed of where repairs were being made, ice breaking operations and that emergency services to the island were being maintained. Ice breaking also occurred to facilitate the ferry's travel.
Boblo ferry back in service mayor wants second ferry
By Ron Giofu
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