Historic S.S. Keewatin makes stop in Port Colborne Friday

A Titanic-era ship that is more than 100 years old is on its way to Kingston and making stops in Port Colborne, St. Catharines and Hamilton.

The S.S. Keewatin was built in Scotland in 1907 and it is the last Edwardian-era steamliner. Around 3,800 similar ships were built in the early 1900s but the S.S. Keewatin is the only one that has survived all these years. The ship originally carried tourists, settlers, and cargo throughout the Great Lakes from the early 20th century until the 1960s.

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Mayor of Port Colborne, Bill Steele says, “It changed how people cruised and boated on the Great Lakes. This was certainly new technology of the day, gone from wooden sail ships to something big and steal and lots of beautiful woodwork inside.”

The ship is en route to the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston. It was donated by the ship’s current owners, Skyline Investments.

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Before docking in Kingston, the ship will undergo major renovations. Hamilton’s Heddle Shipyards will be completing a significant portion of this work.