Residents of Bois Blanc Island, or better known as Boblo Island, were left stranded over the weekend after the ferry was taken out of service Thursday due to the propeller being damaged by large ice floes.
The island is owned by Amico Properties, which is also responsible for the Amherstburg Ferry Company.
In an email to residents, shared with AM800 News, the company stated repair crews would spend Sunday morning attempting to repair the issue, while a tug boat began ice breaking.
Amherstburg mayor Michael Prue, a resident of the island, said he was hopeful for a fix but wasn't confident.
He was also worried given the extreme cold headed for the region.
"Most importantly, I would like for the ferry to run so that the propane trucks can come over, nobody on the island has anything except propane, every single house is heated by propane, people are running out," said Prue. "We had a delivery scheduled for Friday and we've had to turn the heat down to 60 degrees to preserve what's left."
This isn't the first time residents have been left stranded.
In the fall of 2023, the main ferry was taken out of service for two weeks for what was being called then as 'routine maintenance', and during that time the back up ferry was also deemed unsafe by Transport Canada.
Prue says there is still no back up ferry.
"The big problem isn't that a ferry breaks down, cars break down, boats break down, all industrial machines break down, they all break down from time to time, the thing is that there needs to be a back up, and [the owner] has not provided a back up for several years, and I think that's the big problem here," he said.
Prue says he plans to raise the issue again at the next meeting of town council on Jan. 27.
He says under the town's emergency services plan, the island is required to have two working ferries at all times.
"So that plan is not being obeyed," Prue said. "Although, to be fair, the developer does have a tug boat on the wharf on the mainland side, but the tug boat cannot transfer people or cars, but what it can do, is it can push a barge or a broken down ferry with fire truck or something on it, if necessary."
Island residents are required to pay upwards of $5,000 in ferry dues each year, for access to the private ferry that is supposed to operate 24/7, 365 days a year on a 20 minute schedule.