The shipbuilder contracted to ship Toronto’s long-awaited, $92-million electrical ferries is going through forgery costs and allegations of violating Russian sanctions within the Netherlands that town solely realized of this week, in response to Dutch prosecutors and a metropolis spokesperson.
The allegations haven’t been examined in court docket.
“In retrospect, there has been discussion about whether this was permitted under the [European Union]-sanctions package at the time,” Middel stated. The fees in opposition to Damen had been first reported by the Toronto Star.
Forgery case may have penalties for future tenders, firm says
The forgery case may have doable penalties for future tenders, Middel stated, if Damen is irrevocably convicted on the conclusion of authorized proceedings
“The City of Toronto has no reason at all to assume any implications for the ferry program in the coming years,” Middel stated. The corporate has “invested significantly” in compliance since 2014 and has been assembly “the highest standards in this area for years,” Middel stated.
Damen can have a pre-trial listening to in Zwolle, a metropolis in northeastern Netherlands, on Nov. 24.
WATCH | Lengthy ferry traces pissed off many within the metropolis final summer time:
Torontonians pissed off at lengthy traces for island ferry
There are renewed requires town to work towards constructing a bridge to the Toronto Islands following a weekend of lengthy traces on the ferry terminal. As CBC’s Britnei Bilhete stories, some Torontonias stated wait occasions had been as much as an hour and a half.
Town wasn’t conscious of the fees till Tuesday, a spokesperson stated in a press release.
Town is anticipating two electrical ferries, at the price of $92 million, to be delivered in 2026 and 2027, after being constructed at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania.
Expenses concern enterprise in Africa, Asia and South America
The case introduced in opposition to Damen by Dutch prosecutors considerations funds of excessive commissions to brokers concerned in ship gross sales in Africa, Asia and South America.
Paying these commissions creates a “substantial” threat of officers being bribed within the nations the place enterprise was being completed, prosecutors allege.
Damen has not been criminally convicted and the corporate met all disclosure necessities for distributors when the contract was negotiated, Mayor Olivia Chow stated Wednesday.
‘We need our ferries,’ mayor says
She stated the contract with Damen was awarded in 2024. The mayor stated town takes the fees severely and has a third-party inspector on the shipyard offering updates on the ferry venture.
“If the situation changes or new information comes forward, the city will respond appropriately,” the mayor stated at an unrelated TTC announcement.
The within of the ferries town expects to obtain from Damen in 2026 and 2027. (Metropolis of Toronto)
“We need our ferries and they’re in the middle of building [them], so we’ll see,” the mayor stated when requested if a metropolis response may embrace an try to finish the contract.
