Around New England

549 Ferry Trips To Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Cancelled So Far in 2018

May 11, 2018

Some 559 ferry trips from Cape Cod to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket were cancelled between January and April 2018 by the Steamship Authority because of mechanical breakdowns, according to a new report.

Only 148 ferry trips were cancelled because of mechanical breakdowns during the previous four years (2014 through 2017) combined, according to The Vineyard Gazette.

The Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamship Authority, as it is formally known, is a quasi-public entity given authority by the Massachusetts Legislature to issue debt in order to provide ferries between the Cape and the Islands.

The authority has encountered during the past few months high-profile mid-voyage breakdowns of costly ships that aren’t old.

One of the boats, called the Martha’s Vineyard, broke down at night on March 17 off East Chop Light on the Vineyard while it was bringing back 72 passengers, including members of a high school sports team who had just played Martha’s Vineyard High School. The ship had just undergone a $17.4 million refurbishment.

Unhappy members of the authority’s board of governors are demanding solutions from the staff.