By spring 2018, visitors will have a new mode of transportation to Pelee Island, a spot of land that sits in Lake Erie between Ontario and Ohio.
The Pelee Islander II is a 222-foot ferry that can transport 34 vehicles and 399 passengers. Controversy swirled around the ferry after the Ontario Ministry of Transportation decided to commission the vessel from a manufacturer in Valdivia, Chile in 2015. Critics argued the ship should be built locally, but the ministry countered that no Canadian builder had the facilities to build a ferry to the necessary size. The Pelee Islander II launched from Chile in October 2017 and is expected to begin service to the Canadian island in spring 2018.
