Update March 29
The Steamship Authority’s largest ferry was sidelined most of the day Sunday because of a mechanical issue. The vessel failed to take its early morning crossing to Vineyard Haven, and was kept in its Woods Hole slip for a steering-related assessment. It returned to service for its 3:45 pm run, according to SSA spokesman Sean Driscoll. The problem stemmed from a faulty steering breaker on the Vineyard end of the double-ended ferry. SSA personnel replaced the breaker.
“The issue did not reoccur after that fix, and the [U.S. Coast Guard] cleared the vessel,” Driscoll wrote.
To fill in for the Island Home, the SSA sent in the Katama from Fairhaven.
The Island Home suffered a somewhat similar steering problem in March, and was just back from what Driscoll said was scheduled maintenance last week.
The problems with the Island Home came as the SSA issued a travel alert for Sunday afternoon into Monday, regarding the threat of high winds. However, as of 2 pm Monday, no vessels were delayed or canceled due to the wind on the Vineyard route, according to Driscoll.
Updated to include more details.