The Steamship Authority is preparing to part ways with its oldest ferry, M/V Governor, once the new M/V Monomoy joins the fleet this spring.
General manager Alex Kryska received the advisory port council’s approval Tuesday to recommend that the authority’s board of governors put the 72-year-old freight boat on the market.
“She’s timed out for us at this point,” Mr. Kryska said, at the monthly port council meeting in Falmouth.
The board of governors is expected to take up the recommendation at its regular meeting next Tuesday.
The Governor has been serving as a backup freight ferry, but the Sankaty will take that position once the new M/V Monomoy joins the Steamship Authority fleet this spring. The expense of maintaining two backup boats would be prohibitive, Mr. Kryska said, citing $1.25 million a year to keep a single vessel on standby and additional berthing costs of $30,000 a month.
The 45-year-old Sankaty is the logical choice to keep because she can serve all of the Steamship Authority’s port towns and handle heavy weather, he said.
The Governor is a sturdy workhorse, but too deep-bottomed to run in and out of shallow Hyannis harbor on the Nantucket route, which limits her usefulness to the SSA, Mr. Kryska said.
She also is a wet boat that tends to roll in even moderate seas, thanks to her barge-like, low-profile design.
“Once the waves get over four feet, she can’t operate because you have waves coming over off the bow [and] off the stern,” Mr. Kryska said.
By the time she joined the Steamship Authority fleet in 1998, M/V Governor already had served islands on two coasts, from Puget Sound to New York Harbor, over more than 40 years.
She began her life in 1954 as M/V Crown City, plying the San Diego-Coronado Island route until the two ports were linked by a bridge in the late 1960s.
Sold to Washington State Ferries and renamed Kulshan in 1970, the boat was dependable but unpopular with riders, according to the ferry enthusiast website evergreenfleet.com.
“The Kulshan probably has the unique distinction of being one of the most disliked ferries to ever sail Puget Sound waters,” begins the website’s description of the vessel.
She changed hands — and names — again in 1982, when the U.S. Coast Guard purchased her to serve its operations on Governor’s Island in New York Harbor. After the Coast Guard closed the Governor’s Island base in 1996, the ferry was declared surplus for the third time in her life and was sold to the Steamship Authority for $1.
After another $500,000 in renovations, the Governor joined the SSA fleet, where it has earned the affection of Islanders.
“That’s my favorite boat because it runs and it runs, and it’s one of the fastest boats,” said Oak Bluffs port council member Joe Sollitto.
On the other hand, chief operating officer Mark Amundsen said the Governor carries less cargo than other Steamship Authority boats, throwing off freight allocations.
“It is a capacity issue,” Mr. Amundsen said.
The estimated resale value of the Governor is $325,000, according to a recent condition and valuation survey by Marine Safety Consultants of Fairhaven.
If the board of governors votes next week to sell the boat, Mr. Kryska said she may find a market in the Caribbean, where small ferries are common.
At the same time, he said, a number of used cruise ships have recently gone up for sale, pushing down the market for all used boats.
Should no buyer emerge to keep the Governor in the water, she will have to be sold for scrap value, Mr. Kryska said.
This article appears in March 20, 2026.
How shameful, with all the problems the newer ferries have, that you would even consider selling a fast, functional ferry for scrap. This is one of the best resources you have; you should be holding onto it as long as you possibly can!
This is a sad day for long time Steamship customers. The Steamship Authority or maybe just this article doesn’t seem to value the fabulous customer experience of the Governor. No other boat allows a view from the car deck of the beautiful Vineyard Sound and West Chop. It is the double ender, and the fastest car ferry in the fleet (35 minutes VH-WH). It is also fast to load, fast to unload and super enjoyable to be on. The SSA should put a premium value on the customer experience by keeping the Governor.