Titanic-era passenger steamship coming through Welland Canal

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Published April 28, 2023 at 10:41 am

The historic SS Keewatin will be towed through the Welland Canal today, on route to Hamilton for significant repairs. Built in 1907, it remains the last passenger steamship of its era.

Ships pass through Welland Canal every day with nary a notice but historic boat watchers are buzzing with the news that the SS Keewatin will be coming through the locks today (April 28).

That’s because the 300-foot passenger steamship is floating history. The Keewatin is the world’s last Titanic-era passenger steamship.

Built in 1907, the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company commissioned Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Scotland to build the Keewatin. Now, 116 years later, with some refurbishing, it still remains on the water – the only one of its generation still here.

At the moment, it is being pulled by the Molly M-1 tugboat through the canal, entering Lock 8 in Port Colborne at roughly 9:30 am and will be in the canal all day until it exits Lock 1 in St. Catharines at 6:45 pm.

From there, it will be towed to Hamilton for the summer, where it will undergo major repairs, before finally heading to Kingston, where it’ll be docked permanently for historic tours in 2024.

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