PortsToronto celebrates the first “Saltie” of the year with the 163rd annual Top Hat Ceremony

Spring shipping season kicks off with the arrival of the MV Wigeon into the Port of Toronto on Wednesday, March 27. Since 1861, the Captain of the first “saltie” to arrive at the Port of Toronto has been crowned with a top hat – now an antique hat more than 200-years old – at the annual Top Hat Ceremony. The annual ceremony also celebrates the commencement of the 2024 shipping season.

This year, the MV Wigeon won the race to be the first international ship to arrive at the Port of as it journeyed from Recife, Brazil to deliver 20,800 metric tonnes of sugar to the Redpath Sugar Refinery on the Toronto waterfront. The total trip from its home port in Brazil to Toronto took approximately 30 days. As part of the longstanding tradition spanning 163-years, PortsToronto President and CEO, RJ Steenstra crowned the ship’s Captain Sergiy Kobylyashnyy with the antique silk top hat at this year’s Top Hat Ceremony.

Originally begun as a celebration of the first ship to enter the harbour each year, the annual tradition now celebrates the arrival of the first ocean-going ship of the season, also known as a “saltie.” Early records show that the Port of Toronto’s first Harbour Master, Hugh Richardson, initiated the idea to entice ships to bring building materials into the harbour as early as possible each year, allowing Toronto—then a burgeoning city—to start its building season.  The hat itself is also an object of lore. Legend has it that the top hat acted as a “key to the city” for a 24-hour period, enabling the captain and crew to eat and drink for free.

The Port of Toronto is one of Canada’s major inland ports and plays an important role in Canada’s transportation network and Toronto’s economic infrastructure, allowing for the convenient, sustainable and cost-effective delivery of a range of bulk, project and general cargo products directly into the heart of the city.

Learn more about how the Port of Toronto serves as a gateway to the world, for both tourism and trade, here.