The Steamship Authority is bringing its newest ferry, M/V Aquinnah, to the Vineyard May 16 for a public commissioning ceremony at the Oak Bluffs terminal.

The ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m. and will be followed by an open house at the terminal and self-guided tours of the vessel from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., according to an announcement from communications director Sean Driscoll.

The Aquinnah will then depart for Woods Hole, where it will again be open to the public for self-guided tours from about 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. before returning to the Steamship Authority’s maintenance facility in Fairhaven.

Originally a service vessel for the offshore oil and gas industry, the Aquinnah is one of three identical ships the Steamship has purchased for conversion to freight ferries that also can carry passengers.

Its sister ship M/V Barnstable, which joined the Nantucket-Hyannis service earlier this year, has recently been plying the Vineyard-Woods Hole route for crew training and logistics purposes, Mr. Driscoll told the Gazette.

The third new ferry, M/V Monomoy, is still undergoing work at Alabama Shipyard, where the Barnstable and Aquinnah previously were converted from offshore energy service vessels to Steamship Authority freight ferries.

The conversion required cutting the midsection out of each boat and replacing it with a shorter section, to meet U.S. Coast Guard requirements for freight ferries that carry 50 or more passengers.

M/V Aquinnah, which has been steaming north from Alabama, was expected to reach Fairhaven on Friday.