The Martha’s Vineyard was back in service Wednesday night after a collision with the Governor in Woods Hole Wednesday morning put the ferry out of service for a day.

Long backup of cars in Oak Bluffs Wednesday afternoon after mishap in Woods Hole put ferry Martha's Vineyard out of service. — Jeanna Shepard

There were no injuries in the mishap, which caused a large standby line on the Vineyard, two days after the Fourth of July holiday.

SSA general manager Wayne Lamson said in an email late Wednesday that the Martha’s Vineyard had been repaired and inspected by the Coast Guard and would make her 7:30 p.m. run from Woods Hole to the Vineyard.

According to Mr. Lamson, the ferry Governor was coming into Woods Hole at about 11:40 a.m. that morning when she lost steering. At the time the Martha’s Vineyard was already docked in another slip, unloading vehicles. “The captain went to back up the bow engine and it stalled,” Mr. Lamson said, describing the incident. He said as a result the Governor hit the Martha’s Vineyard in the slip. The Governor sustained only minor damage and was later cleared by the Coast Guard to begin running again, Mr. Lamson said.

Passengers line up to leave the Island. Replacement ferry Katama, a freight vessel, has limited passenger capacity. — Jeanna Shepard

But the Martha’s Vineyard had a 12-inch crack above the water line, just below the rub rail, he said. Additionally there were some structural frames bent by the collision. Mr. Lamson said it is technically called an allision — a maritime term for when one moving vessel hits a vessel that is not moving.

The ferry was moved to the third slip in Woods Hole where welders went to work to repair the damage.

Meanwhile, the freight ferry Katama was brought over from Fairhaven to begin service between Woods Hole and the Vineyard.

Mr. Lamson said the Coast Guard is investigating the incident.

The captain of the Governor at the time was Steve Estrela, he said.

Oak Bluffs terminal extra busy. — Jeanna Shepard

He did not have immediate information about how many people or cars were on the Governor at the time of the mishap. But he said the crew acted quickly to move people back when they saw what was happening. “They got everybody back and out of the way — this may have prevented anything worse from happening. We were lucky; it could have been worse,” the general manager said.

He said sea conditions at the time were a strong flood tide with winds out of the southwest.

Travelers who had reservations on cancelled trips were given priority in the standby lines, and the Katama continued running to help clear the backup.

Steamship Authority customers can check for updates on the SSA website.