The Steamship Authority is promising improvements in the ferry line’s recordkeeping after paperwork and administrative lapses forced the company to abruptly pull two vessels out of service this month.
There were several delays and cancellations on the Vineyard route Saturday after the M/V Island Home was taken out of service due to an expired radiotelephony certification. The certificate is required by the Federal Communications Commission to operate commercial vessels and aircraft.
Steamship general manager Alex Kryska explained the licensing issue in a letter to customers Sunday, and vowed that the ferry line would take steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“I know Saturday was a frustrating day for our customers, and it was for our staff, too,” he wrote. “But we will learn and improve from these incidents and, ultimately, become a stronger organization.”
Steamship marine and engineering staff learned of the lapsed certificate during a review of the fleet’s regulatory paperwork, according to the letter. That review was initiated earlier this month after the M/V Monomoy, one of the new freight boats plying the Nantucket route, had to be taken out of service because it had missed its quarterly inspection schedule with the U.S. Coast Guard.
Mr. Kryska said there was no mechanical defect with the Island Home and the Steamship Authority is working to get a new radio certificate for the Island home from the Federal Communications Commission. He estimated that the ferry wouldn’t be back on the Vineyard route until Tuesday at the earliest.
The ferry line sent the M/V Martha’s Vineyard from the Fairhaven vessel maintenance facility Saturday afternoon to take the Island Home’s place. But that ferry can’t carry as many vehicles, causing delays for travelers.
“I’ll be frank: it’s unacceptable that two vessels in as many weeks have been sidelined by what are, essentially, paperwork issues,” Mr. Kryska wrote in the letter to customers. “I’m angry about it, as are many of our staff members, but it’s also an opportunity for us to improve how we do business.”
The Island Home’s lapsed radio certificate was the only item out of compliance found during the review of the fleet’s paperwork.
“We’re entering all these regulatory deadlines in a central database for tracking, and we will leverage our internal communications systems in a more efficient way to be sure multiple staff members are notified of their status well in advance of their expiration,” Mr. Kryska wrote.
This article appears in September 18, 2026.
This situation was completely avoidable. Who at the SSA fell asleep at the switch?
It is embarrassing and unbelievable for the “lifeline” transit route for a large population in one of the most advanced stated in the United Stated to achieve this level of wreckless incompetency. When does the state department of transportation take over? The cries for help could not be louder and clearer as the level of incompetence sinks further down into dangerous territory. If the state doesn’t step in, is it liable for the inevitable larger disasters?
a state takeover? oh please no. it will get twice as bad.
Do you really think the state could run it better? Think “Big Dig”
State takeover? Be careful what you wish for, you’ll regret it forever. And it was a paperwork snafu, not a maritime disaster. Annoying and inconvenient, yes, embarrassing, yes yes, but not a danger to life and limb.
“We can’t even make sure the boats are inspected or certified….but trust us with your and family’s life.”
I agree, state management would probably be worse, but at this point, something is needed. the cancellation of your reservation on or off the island is more than inconvenient or annoying to say the least.
This is why you keep the Governor: to keep as many options on the table as you need.
Are we not going to mention pulling from the wrong lane for the cancelled boats due to the incompetence and lack of communication within the steamship authority staff? We were 2nd in line to board the next boat after ours was cancelled and watched line after line board other boats. This After being told 1st come 1st served. It got very tense and down right hostile. Wouldn’t be so bad but there was absolutely No communication to the passengers that did what was required and were still left waiting an unacceptable amount of time. 2 words…block island.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Keep the state out. It will be twice as bad as now. Just look at the MBTA
Once again SSA incompetence shows that Patriot Boat with a car in Falmouth is the platinum standard for reliable, local off-island travel. No wonder the number of air passengers continues to climb at the airport, the SSA is simply too unreliable for a family to plan a weeklong vacation with the risk of losing 1-3 days in peak season because of SSA issues. Personally, I never rely on SSA for on-time “need-to-be-there” life events.
We understand that administrative challenges happen and that vessels occasionally need to be removed from service. However, the situation at the Woods Hole terminal at 7:30 PM on Saturday revealed severe operational disorganization among the on-site staff.
Vehicles were directed haphazardly throughout the lot without a clear system. For instance, lane 1 and lane 4 were loaded out of sequence, and staff permitted vehicles that had just arrived with later ticket times to board ahead of waiting passengers. I had to present my 7:30 ticket to three separate employees simply to be placed in the correct queue.
A lack of communication and coordination among the team was evident, compounded by unprofessional and hostile behavior toward passengers. An employee explicitly told a waiting driver, “Keep complaining and I’ll make sure you miss this boat.”
The loading process requires a higher standard of professional management, moving away from relying on inexperienced staff who display poor customer service. Additionally, it is worth evaluating whether the placement of the new terminal building in the center of the site has negatively impacted overall traffic efficiency.
“Additionally, it is worth evaluating whether the placement of the new terminal building in the center of the site has negatively impacted overall traffic efficiency.”
And what if the answer is yes? Then what? Bulldoze it down?
I had not been off since May until this past weekend and had a chance to see the finished product. It is not as bad as I thought it would be (Murray!) in terms of aesthetics, and whatever view is lost at the top of the hill and while sitting in standby behind the buildin is partially made up for by the seating afforded by the stone wall facing the ferries and the harbor. Very nice. But, and this is a very big but, it is still way too big and still in the wrong place.
Incompetence is the problem