First Ship of the Season Comes into Goderich Harbour

by Bob Montgomery

The Captain of the first ship of the season to come into Goderich was presented with the prestigious Top Hat at a ceremony in the Goderich town hall yesterday morning.

Captain Mark William Rice explained his ship is in fact a barge and unlike the ships that come into the harbour to pick up load of salt, he was delivering a load of calcium chloride two, which is a liquid salt and is used in mining. He says the calcium chloride was loaded in Michigan and they deliver it to ports like Goderich, Prescot, and Morrisburg, Ontario and Three Rivers, Quebec.

Captain Rice says climate change has definitely influenced the shipping season in the last few years. “I think we're in a week earlier than the last Top Hat Ceremony from 2023. There isn't as much ice accumulation this year. The Macanah Straights are wide open, there has been a warm up and we all know things are warming up, but I don't think we should think next year couldn't be just as hard as a winter we remember from ten years ago.”

Captain Rice says, like everyone else, they just have to adjust to what's going to be the norm in the future.

Captain Mark William Rice surrounded by Goderich council

Top Hat - first presented in 1932