Update: Martha’s Vineyard ferry returns to service
It didn’t happen as quickly as they hoped, but the ferry M/V Martha’s Vineyard was back in service for the 7:30 p.m. from Woods Hole to the Island, Wayne Lamson, executive director of the Steamship Authority wrote in an email.
“Other than the inconvenience that was caused by two round trips that we had to cancel, we were able to handle everything with the other three boats,” he wrote.
The ferry issues probably couldn’t have come at a worse time for the ferry service as passengers tried to make it to the Vineyard for the holiday weekend. At about 5:45 p.m., Woods Hole was chaotic with passengers lined up to get on the Island Home.
By early afternoon, the 3:45 pm Martha’s Vineyard ferry to the Island had been cancelled, and the SSA was hoping to get it back running by the 5 p.m. departure. “That depends on the diver getting through traffic at the bridge,” Mr. Lamson told The Times.
The SSA issued an alert at 5:30pm that the 6:15 ferry from Oak Bluffs to Woods Hole had been canceled.
While walk-on passengers can be squeezed onto other boats, it presented an issue for cars and trucks. As many as 48 to 50 car equivalents (some were likely trucks) now have to be added to other ferries, he said. The lift decks are being used on the Island Home, which can accommodate up to 16 additional vehicles, Mr. Lamson said. Those lifts aren’t typically reserved to allow for instances like this, he said.
The incident happened as the MV Martha’s Vineyard was backing into its slip in Oak Bluffs, Mr. Lamson said. It’s unclear exactly what happened, but the ferry was allowed to make its 2:30 pm return trip, with passengers, to Woods Hole using one engine, he said.
Mr. Lamson is hopeful SSA can get the ferry back operating and if it can’t make the 5 pm run on time, at least get it operating on a delay. “Otherwise it starts to affect Saturday’s trips,” he said.
The Steamship Authority advises checking on the status of your trip before traveling. For more information, please call 508.548.3788 or 508.693.0367.
Current Conditions may be viewed at http://www.steamshipauthority.
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