The newly-completed ferry M/V Aquinnah officially joined the Steamship Authority fleet Friday, in a commissioning ceremony that drew about 150 people to the ferry terminal in Oak Bluffs.

The Steamship Authority is bringing its newest ferry, M/V Aquinnah, to the Vineyard May 16 for a public commissioning ceremony at the Oak Bluffs terminal.

Steamship Authority engineers are working to iron out some unexpected wrinkles in the performance of the new freight ferry, M/V Barnstable.

Less than six months after voting to end paid advertising aboard its ferries, the Steamship Authority board of governors rescinded the decision Monday.

The Steamship Authority this week sold off the M/V Gay Head, just days before the M/V Barnstable is set to make its first trip to Nantucket.

The M/V Barnstable, a former oil vessel that has been converted into a freight ferry, left the shipyard in Alabama Thursday for what is expected to be an eight-day voyage to the boat line’s maintenance facility in Fairhaven.

The Steamship Authority has dropped a potential $3.50 to $5 rate increase for excursion fares from the Vineyard and cut a proposed passenger rate hike from $1 to 50 cents, according to a revised draft of the preliminary 2025 operating budget.

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.