The newest member of the Steamship Authority fleet was in Fairhaven Tuesday for a final fitting out. A formal commissioning and maiden voyage to the Vineyard are planned for June 13 — then all aboard.
The newest Steamship Authority ferry has arrived in Massachusetts waters, docking at the Steamship Authority facility in Fairhaven, just across Buzzards Bay from her future home port.
Though the Louisiana shipyard building the new ferry says it will be more than five weeks late in delivering the vessel, Steamship Authority managers remain hopeful the ferry will be delivered earlier, general manager Wayne Lamson said this week.
Vineyard governor Marc Hanover wants the boat line to explore the feasibility of getting trash off the ferries and shipping it to New Bedford via private barge.
Traffic on Union street in downtown Vineyard Haven will be reversed for one month beginning Sept. 13 and running through Columbus Day weekend. A traffic committee advised the experimental reversal to see if it improves traffic flow in the downtown Vineyard Haven area.