Repairs to the Oak Bluffs Steamship Authority wharf are on track to be completed by June 15, a week ahead of schedule but nearly a month after the terminal’s normal opening, boat line governors learned Wednesday

After a historically bad April for both ridership and revenue, the Steamship Authority continued to take steps to buoy its operation Tuesday.

Pledging a “quick fix,” James Malkin told the county commission that mistakes were made over the Oak Bluffs ferry terminal.

Oak Bluffs selectmen had strong words of criticism for the Steamship Authority Tuesday after learning that the boat line terminal in their town might not be ready to open in time for summer.

The coastal bank just to the north of the Steamship Authority terminal in Oak Bluffs won't win any beauty awards.

The Steamship Authority is on track to finish a difficult year in reasonably good financial shape, the last board meeting of 2009 was told last week.

As of the end of October, the boat line’s net operating income was almost $12 million, some $2.8 million better than forecast.

The monthly business summary continued the good-in-parts trend of recent months: revenues were sharply down, but so were costs.

If you happened to be in Oak Bluffs on Tuesday and were surprised to see the Steamship Authority terminal building in the process of being flattened, you were not alone. Also surprised, and dismayed, were town officials.

For the SSA did not have the town’s permission to do it. The conservation commission had issued an order permitting the renovation and expansion of the existing structure, not the demolition of it.

After more than a decade of planning and almost three years of construction, the Steamship Authority’s new Oak Bluffs terminal was officially opened on Wednesday, just in time for the start of the boat line’s seasonal service.

The chairman of the Oak Bluffs selectmen, Duncan Ross, flanked by the SSA’s general manager, Wayne Lamson and Martha’s Vineyard’s representative on the SSA board of governors, Marc Hanover, cut a red ribbon strung across the front door of the new building.