An issue with the Steamship Authority’s passenger ferry Island Home led to at least two cancellations and delays for travelers on Tuesday.
Steamship Authority communications director Sean Driscoll said that a pump in the vessel’s reduction gear needed to be replaced. Repairs are anticipated to be completed on Thursday morning.
The mechanical issue led the Steamship Authority to substitute the Island Home with the smaller freight ferry Sankaty. According to the ferry line’s website, around 39 vehicles can board the Sankaty, while the Island Home can carry around 60 vehicles, which goes up to 76 if the hydraulic lift decks are used.
“The MV Sankaty has lower vehicle capacity, so some customers may need to be accommodated on a different trip than the one they booked. Walk-on passenger cutoffs may also occur,” the ferry line stated in an online announcement on Tuesday.
Passengers crowded the Steamship terminal in Vineyard Haven waiting for the 5 pm ferry on Tuesday, some of whom were stragglers from the Island Home’s canceled 2:30 pm departure. At one point, the large crowd trudged toward the other freight ferry, the Aquinnah, and a Dukes County Sheriff deputy ran over to help terminal staff re-establish order. While waiting in line, customers grumbled about the travel delays, and some took taxis to try their luck with a ferry out of Oak Bluffs. When boarding people onto the Sankaty, terminal staff counted on tally counters to allow 300 walk-on passengers aboard before departing.
While there haven’t been any cancellations since Tuesday, the Island Home was still inoperable on Wednesday morning, bringing another long line of passengers who were anxious about whether they’d be able to board the Sankaty, which departed around 8:40 am.
