First ship welcomed with 155th annual Beaver Hat ceremony

PortsToronto Harbour Master Angus Armstrong “crowns” Federal Rideau Captain Sharma Vinod Kumar with a 200-year-old silk and beaver top hat at the 155^th annual Beaver Hat Ceremony at Redpath Refinery. The annual ceremony dates back to the mid-1800s and celebrates the arrival of the Port of Toronto’s first ocean-going vessel of the season. This year, the Federal Rideau won the race to be the first ship to Port, making the 17-day journey from Guatemala’s Puerto Quetzal to deliver 23,000 metric tonnes of sugar to Redpath Sugar’s refinery.

“The Port of Toronto plays an important role in Canada’s transportation network and the Toronto economy, providing an energy-efficient way to deliver salt, sugar and construction materials directly into the heart of the city while also helping to reduce the number of trucks on Toronto’s busy highways,” said Geoffrey Wilson, President and CEO, PortsToronto. “In 2015, the Port moved more than 1.65 million tonnes of cargo from around the world, with cement imports reaching an 18-year high at nearly 600,000 tonnes to support Toronto’s booming construction industry.”

Source: PR Newswire for Journalists | PortsToronto Celebrates the Arrival of the First Ship of the Season with the 155th Annual Beaver Hat Ceremony