Steamship Authority changes schedule due to crack in ship

Asad Jung, Cape Cod Times
·2 min read

The Steamship Authority has adjusted its schedule after one of its ferries was taken out of service because of a four-inch crack in the hull, the Authority said in a press release.

A small amount of water was found in the steering gear void of the M/V Gay Head, one of the Authority’s “workhorse vessels,” which mainly transports freight.

The Authority surveyed the hull of the ship following the discovery of water in the steering gear void when they found a crack in the hull of the aft of the M/V Gay Head.

The ship will have its structural steel replaced at Thames Shipyard in New London, Connecticut.

In this March 2021 photo, Steamship Authority's ferry, Eagle, makes its way off Veterans Beach on its return trip from Nantucket. Merrily Cassidy/Cape Cod Times
In this March 2021 photo, Steamship Authority's ferry, Eagle, makes its way off Veterans Beach on its return trip from Nantucket. Merrily Cassidy/Cape Cod Times

Steamship Authority schedule adjustments

The M/V Santaky will serve the M/V Gay Head’s Nantucket route on Saturday and Sunday. No weekend trips of the M/V Gay Head will be missed.

The M/V Santaky will rest in Woods Hole Sunday night.

The M/V Santaky will serve its first two scheduled round trips on its Vineyard route Monday morning, its third-round trip will be cancelled (the trip that leaves Woods Hole at 11:30 am and Vineyard Haven at 12:45 pm).

The M/V Santaky will arrive at Woods Hole on Monday at 11 a.m. where it will take passengers to Nantucket, departing at 11:15 am. The passengers of this trip will be the ones who normally take the ship from Hyannis to Nantucket at 10:45 am. However, the Steamship Authority will contact those passengers and ask them to report to Woods Hole instead.

The M/V Santaky will then run one round-trip between Hyannis and Nantucket. The scheduled 6:45 p.m.departure from Nantucket to Hyannis will be changed to 8 p.m., and the M/V Santaky will return to Woods Hole instead of Hyannis.

This will continue at least until Aug. 3.

Online reservations are temporarily halted. Customers with urgent travel needs can call the reservation office at (508) 477-8600.

The M/V Gay Head is set to approach the end of its useful lifespan within the next five years, according to a report from Marine Safety Consultants Inc.

It was built in the early 1980s and mainly transports freight, not passengers, as well as hazardous loads if necessary. It can carry 140 passengers and the freight equivalent of 39 cars.

According to a presentation by General Manager Robert Davis at a Steamship Authority meeting on April 19, the M/V Gay Head is functionally obsolete due to age, and some of the vessel’s steel is compromised due to corrosion.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Crack in Steamship Authority ship causes schedule changes