STEAMSHIP AUTHORITY

Updated 04-May-2020.

Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about STEAMSHIP AUTHORITY!

Steamship Authority suffers from ‘penny-pinching’ mentality, report says – The Boston Globe: The quasi-public agency is excessively cheap, lacks accountability, and is rife with internal factions working at odds with each other, according to a scathing new report.

SSA Sells Ferry to Venezuelan Company in $3.9 Million Deal: The Steamship Authority has sold the long-troubled ferry Flying Cloud to a Venezuelan company for $3.9 million. Boat line general manager Wayne C. Lamson announced Wednesday that Gran Cacique II bought the high-speed vessel, which ran on the Hyannis-Nantucket route from 2000 to 2006. The SSA paid nearly $8 million for the Flying Cloud, which was built by Derector Shipyards in Mamaroneck, N.Y. The boat line placed the vessel in service to compete against Hy-Line in the Hyannis-Nantucket high-speed ferry market.

A History Shaped by State Politics: It’s been 65 years since the first Steamship Authority was created, signed into existence by Massachusetts Gov. Robert Bradford in 1948 as the New Bedford, Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority. Regular ferry service had existed prior to that date, beginning in the early 1800s. The arrival of the Old Colony Railroad in the 1870s brought train tracks right to the wharf in Woods Hole, spearheading the growth of both the Island summer tourism industry and the boat lines, which were then privately owned.

My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: the Steamship Authority is the only ferry operator to carry automobiles to and from the islands . the Authority also operates several freight vessels, serving as the main link for shipping commercial goods . in 1855, the steamships were replaced by the Island Home . when the competing Island Home service began in 1885, Eagle’s Wing ceased serving Nantucket . in 1948, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts announced the last steamship in regular service was the Nobska, which ran the Woods Hole–Nantucket route until 1973 . several current vessels utilize names that have been a part of Island culture for many years in early 2001, the SSA purchased the 130-foot (40 m) MV Schamonchi . vessel provided passenger-only service on this route until 2003 . a year-round high-speed catamaran service passenger only catamaran service operated from Hyannis to Nantucket . from 2000 to 2007, this service was operated with the MV Flying Cloud . all scheduled passenger ferry operations carrying over 40 people must be approved by the board’s current chair is James Malkin of Martha’s Vineyard . any additional new services must be licensed by the Authority . the authority also has an advisory board known as the Port Council . six passenger ferries are predominantly used for transporting passengers and personal cargo, five of which also accept cars and trucks . the remaining four are open-top and primarily used for larger trucks and freight . ordinary passengers and automobiles the majority of mechanical problems occurred on the Woods Hole-Vineyard Haven route . the rate of cancellations in 2018 was approximately 15 times the yearly average of breakdowns and cancellations . a private consultant brought in