'Someone's gonna get killed': Windsor Port Authority reminds boaters to get out of the way
Warm weather is luring hundreds of anglers to the Detroit River daily this week as officials on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border remind boaters and those on other recreational vessels to move out of the way of large commercial ships.
The Windsor Port Authority is readying to issue fines after months of educational awareness in light of a busy season last year.
“We do have a major problem,” said Peter Berry, harbourmaster with the port authority.“It's great that we have this wonderful weather, people are getting out fishing using the river, but they have to understand they've got to give way to commercial traffic,” he added.
Berry added three near misses occurred during Monday’s total solar eclipse.
“The eclipse definitely did cause additional traffic and we were watching people on the cameras, seeing them staring up looking at it but drifting out in the middle of the river out to the lake in the way of these vessels. Yesterday we had three vessels call to the Coast Guard and said, ‘I need help I can't get through there,’” he explained.
Berry told CTV News Windsor a navigational warning emergency notice was issued during the weekend, and that several captains were sounding their horns with five rapid blasts to indicate boaters were in the way.
“These lakers that are coming through here are a vital part of the economy and these fishermen for the most part who are refusing get out of the way or not paying attention are creating a significant hazard which could affect our economy,” he said. “It's definitely a safety issue.”
Recreational boats are seen on the Detroit River in Windsor, Ont. on April 9, 2024. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)
Berry continued, “You got to think of the fact that the navigation channel is only as wide as really the 401. There's not a lot of space to play with. So when you're in a fishing boat with your ear buds and you don't hear that laker coming, that laker can't stop for over a kilometer.
Officials are also encountering fishermen who are getting out of the way, but only by about 20 or 30 feet from the hull of large vessels, with Berry noting the undersection off the bow could very easily pull them back underneath the big ships.
“We've given the warnings over the years. Now we're going to start ticketing,” he said.
According to Berry tickets range from $500 to $5,000, and if there's significant damage, penalties could go up to $50,000.
“We'd like to see the fishermen coming out here and enjoy their time,” said Berry. “Just get out of the way of the commercial vessels. Give them lots of space. Don't wait [until] the last two minutes before the ship gets there and get well out of the way.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
OPP's mandatory alcohol screening during traffic stops 'not acceptable': CCLA
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
Maple Leafs down Bruins 2-1 to force Game 7
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
Southern Alberta store broken into by burly black bear
Staff at a small southern Alberta office supply store were shocked to find someone had broken into the business last week, but they were even more confused when they discovered the culprit was a bear.
Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.