Port of Toronto – 2025 Top Hat Ceremony

A sure sign of spring’s arrival, the first international ship of the 2025 shipping season has arrived at the Port of Toronto. Earlier today, PortsToronto “crowned” Captain Sergei Soldatkin of the MV Blacky with an antique top hat – first presented in the spring of 1861– at the annual Top Hat Ceremony. For the past 164 years, PortsToronto has celebrated the official opening of the commercial shipping season by crowning the captain of the first ocean-going vessel or “saltie” to arrive at the port.