Kingston (Public Port)

Kingston, ON · Transport Canada · Transport Canada · Lake Ontario / St. Lawrence River (at the mouth of the Cataraqui River and the Rideau Canal)

Kingston is a Transport Canada public port located at the northeastern end of Lake Ontario where it meets the head of the St. Lawrence River, the mouth of the Cataraqui River, and the southern terminus of the Rideau Canal. It is administered under Section 65 of the Canada Marine Act and Schedule 1 of the Public Ports and Public Ports Facilities Regulations, overseen by Transport Canada's Ontario Region. The port serves primarily cruise ships, excursion/tour boats, ferries (to Wolfe Island and seasonally to Cape Vincent, NY) and pleasure craft, with downtown waterfront facilities such as Crawford Wharf/Confederation Basin and the Kingston Coal Dock (about 81 m long, with depths from roughly 4.9 m at the dock face), plus Portsmouth Olympic Harbour. Cargo activity is small-scale (general, bulk and project cargo) rather than high-volume commercial shipping, with the port functioning chiefly as a passenger and recreational marine gateway on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system.