The Steamship Authority is facing a $5 million gap between its projected revenues and expenses next year due to an unprecedented $15 million rise in costs, paired with a decline in revenues.
The last two Steamship Authority captains from Martha’s Vineyard have officially retired, leaving only off Island-based officers to run the Woods Hole route.
After more than two years of development, the Steamship Authority’s long-delayed new website has been put on hold until a new reservations system is in place.
Steamship Authority general manager Bob Davis announced Tuesday he will step down in October 2025 to take an advisory role at the boat line. Mr. Davis gave a tearful goodbye to the public and staff at the monthly meeting of the board of governors, held on Nantucket.
The M/V Barnstable, a repurposed offshore oil vessel, could join the boat line’s fleet later this fall after more than a year’s work at the Alabama Shipyard in Mobile.
The Steamship Authority’s second largest vehicle ferry will be sidelined until at least Friday due to damage on the vessel's portside propeller blades.
On Tuesday, the Steamship board of governors voted to run the same scaled back summer schedule next year in light of crew shortages, but some members wondered if that was even possible as cancellations due to lack of staff pile up.
At the beginning of the summer season, the Steamship Authority decided to cut back on its schedule to reduce the risk of unexpected cancellations due to razor thin staffing margins. And yet, the cancellations keep coming.
The Steamship Authority got off to a rocky start this weekend after the reservation office in Mashpee lost power in a storm and several runs on the Vineyard Route were canceled.
