Ontario’s Wolfe Islander IV ferry has returned to service months after being sidelined for repairs, but an unspecified mechanical issue and poor weather have already caused delays. The ferry is the sole link between Wolfe Island, south of Kingston, Ont., and the mainland. The electric Wolfe Islander IV (WI4) was meant to replace the aging diesel-powered Wolfe Islander III (WI3), but damage to the hull in 2024 and electrical issues in 2025 have kept the new ferry offline. The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario announced last week that the Wolfe Islander IV would be back on the water on Monday. But according to its X account, the first day back has been rocky. The account posted at 4:57 a.m., three minutes before the first trip of the day, that the ferry was running off schedule due to “mechanical issues.” At 5:56 a.m., the ferry was out of service because of the weather, but was then said to be running off schedule due to weather as of 6:08 a.m. A fog advisory was in effect Monday morning in the Kingston area, according to Environment Canada, warning of near-zero visibility. The regular schedule for the Wolfe Islander IV is an 80-minute round trip between Kingston and Marysville, which is slower than the Wolfe Islander III’s previous one-hour round-trip schedule, but the larger WI4 can accommodate up to 75 vehicles, 20 more than the WI3. The ferry has been a consistent source of frustration for the roughly 1,600 residents of Wolfe Island. Some islanders have called for a second ferry to provide additional service.
