Steamship Authority customers were spared a fare increase in 2022, but more than $3 million in red ink on next year’s draft operating budget spells higher prices for riders in 2023.
As public pressure grows in the wake of Steamship Authority cancellations, breakdowns and reservation woes, the Dukes County commission invited Jim Malkin, Vineyard representative to the SSA, to give an update on operations at the ferry line on Sept. 7.
The cost of overhauling the Steamship Authority freight ferry M/V Katama, originally estimated at $1.1 million, has ballooned by more than 40 per cent after drydock workers found deteriorating structural steel deep inside the vessel.
The Steamship Authority's M/V Nantucket was back out of service on Wednesday and Thursday due to a nagging mechanical problem that first arose last weekend.
The Steamship Authority is preparing to purchase two Louisiana-based offshore supply vessels for conversion into freight ferries to replace the aging M/V Gay Head and M/V Katama.
A mechanical failure aboard the Steamship Authority's M/V Nantucket Saturday morning led to travel delays and confusion on both sides of Vineyard Sound.
Since mid-March, nearly 50 potential contractors have looked at the Steamship Authority's request for proposals to start a freight service to the Vineyard from New Bedford or another port not located on Cape Cod. The number that expressed interest? Zero.
The freight ferry M/V Gay Head is expected to be back in service Thursday following the replacement of part of its hull, where a crack above the water line was discovered last week.
