The last of three freight ferries the Steamship Authority purchased in 2022 sailed into New England waters to join the rest of the fleet last week.
The Steamship freight vessel Monomoy arrived in Fairhaven, where the ferry line’s maintenance facility is, on the morning of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Monomoy began its northward journey on Jan. 7 from Alabama Shipyard down South, where it was being refurbished, after completing sea trials. The vessel also made fuel stops in Port Everglades in Tampa, Florida and Morehead City, North Carolina.
“Thanks to our crew who brought the third new-to-us ferry home from Alabama safe and sound,” the Steamship Authority stated in a Jan. 19 social media post. “Now our maintenance crews in Fairhaven will take over getting it shipshape for service.”
Zachary Lawrence, the ferry line’s engineering and maintenance director, said during the Steamship Authority board meeting on Jan. 21 that the vessel still needs to be reviewed by the U.S. Coast Guard before it can serve in the fleet.
Jim Malkin, Martha’s Vineyard representative on the board, said the three vessels were chosen because they have identical systems, capacity, and training requirements as each other.
“We had hiccups along the way, as you do with any new vessel, new or secondhand,” Malkin said. “I think the three vessels that we now have are a terrific investment for the Steamship Authority.”
Covering the costs of three ferries’ refurbishment hasn’t been smooth sailing.
The cost of converting the offshore supply vessels exceeded the Steamship Authority’s initial estimate of $9 million per boat, with the lowest bid coming in at $20 million per boat. The ferry line was able to negotiate the price down to $13.7 million each for the Barnstable and the Aquinnah and $17 million for the Monomoy. Including the $17.48 million to acquire the boats and $12.7 million for contingency spending, the Steamship Authority budgeted $80.99 million for the entire project.
But the numbers shown by Lawrence during the ferry meeting showed that millions of dollars worth of change orders have raised the current estimate of the project — from purchasing the three boats to converting them — to $87.36 million.
Malkin said the cost overruns were “not surprising” given the conversion process. He also highlighted that the purchase and conversion of the three vessels would still be cheaper than making a hybrid ferry in the style of the Woods Hole, a project Malkin said would cost over $100 million.
Robert Jones, Barnstable representative on the board, said buying the vessels was a “superb move.”
“It’ll buy us 25 years without having to worry about old age and whatever,” he said
The Monomoy’s northern journey was preceded by its sister ferries the Barnstable and the Aquinnah, which were commissioned to sail under the Steamship banner in December 2024 and May 2025 respectively.
The Monomoy shares the same characteristics as the other two vessels, including 245 feet in length, ability to ferry roughly 50 automobiles per trip, and provide seating for around 80 passengers. The main difference the Monomoy has compared to its sister vessels is that it has a longer skeg, a part of the boat that helps it move straight without sliding to the side. The Barnstable and the Aquinnah will receive skeg extensions.
The original estimate was $47M as per the board meeting minutes. One of our big complaints is that the board just changed the original estimate as costs became more realistic. So no, the original estimate was not $80M. Even in the past six weeks, the costs crept up $900K and no one questioned it. The public needs to understand the full story.
And just for the record, at the costs on 2023, we could have bought two NEW boats modeling the Woods Hole. The used ones we bought have a zero chance of converting to hybrid and use way more fuel.
What would the the Woods Hole cost to build today?
Do the freight boats use more fuel than than the Woods Hole?
The freight boats are good candidates for conversion.
Steel cost increased the actual conversion costs and would have done just the same to the cost of a M/V Woods Hole style vessel had it been actually built. You cannot speak in absolutes when dealing with construction costing. We also paid a higher costs to get two boats completed sooner. The Gay Head And Katama were out of time for use as commercial ferry boat due to the need for inspections in 2025 that they were certain to fail. Different requirements for a private business owner and one of the old vessels has been resold and moved south.
What’s the over/under on when it breaks down?
That will be known after the inevitable.
Likely sooner than newbuilds, like cars.
Do you buy new cars?
Life cycle costs?