A loud bang echoed through Oak Bluffs on Wednesday morning, marking the start of a scheduled maritime security exercise staged by the Steamship Authority at the Oak Bluffs terminal in coordination with local, state, and federal agencies.
The bang was meant to simulate a vehicle explosion, and although no actual cars exploded, 29 role players strew themselves about the ferry terminal’s boardwalk following the noise, each donning cards detailing their mock injuries. The event itself aimed to help improve the Steamship Authority’s and participating agencies’ response if such an incident, or something similar, were to befall the Island community.
In March of 2025, an Edgartown man did allegedly threaten to “vaporize” police at the Steamship Authority terminal, saying he had a bomb while carrying a firearm. Police didn’t find an explosive in the man’s vehicle and he was indicted on March 21, 2025. Most recently had a status review at the Edgartown Courthouse in November of last year.
Sean Driscoll, communications director at the Steamship Authority, said this is an annual exercise that the U.S. Coast Guard rotates throughout the different terminals in their sector.
“This was not in response to any one specific thing,” said Driscoll.
The exercise was a historic moment for the Island’s terminal, marking the first exercise of this scope to take place on the Vineyard.
Local police, fire, and EMS crews responded to treat the “injured” actors, while three test dummies were thrown into the water off the dock for members of the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England to perform water recoveries. After successfully removing the test dummies from the water, Coast Guard and Massachusetts Environmental Police set up a perimeter of boats in the water. As part of the exercise, Massachusetts State Police’s “Air 2” helicopter also landed at Waban Park in Oak Bluffs and dropped off a bomb squad to sweep for secondary devices.
Officers and first responders first extracted the victims that were able to walk and communicate, then they checked the status of each actor, some of whom were acting unconscious, with EMS carrying many out on stretchers.
Of the 29 acting victims, the exercise incorporated seven initial casualties, and many mock life-threatening injuries. Victims were also transported to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital to test the hospital’s response to the incident.
“We were proud hosts of today’s event, which was a great example of multiple agencies working together to do some vitally important training and preparation work,” Steamship Authority General Manager Alex Kryska said in a press release shared with The Times. “While we hope to never put these plans into action, the public should feel reassured by witnessing the lengths to which the SSA and our partner agencies go to keep our communities safe.”
Local agency participants included the Oak Bluffs Police Department, Oak Bluffs Fire Department, Tisbury Police Department, Dukes County Sheriffs Department, Edgartown Police Department, West Tisbury Emergency Management Agency, and Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.
And participating federal agencies included the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. State agencies involved were the Massachusetts State Police, Massachusetts Environmental Police, and Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.
Following the simulation, the Steamship Authority, in coordination with other agencies, engaged in a tabletop exercise to review the exercise and learn how to improve their response. Another set of tabletop exercises was held at the Oak Bluffs Fire Station on Thursday.