Photo: Courtesy of the SSA.
NANTUCKET, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The competition to name two new offshore supply vessels from the Steamship Authority came to a close in early September, and now the winning entries have been unveiled to pay homage to locales off the Massachusetts mainland.
Officials say the M/V Aquinnah and the M/V Monomoy will be joining the SSA's fleet in 2023.
SSA Communications Director Sean Driscoll told WBZ's Tim Dunn that whittling down to the chosen names took some sifting through plenty of unique name ideas like "Boaty McBoatface," "Ferry McFerryface," and "Steamy McSteamface." In this case, the Authority Board opted for names with a bit more sentimental value.
"The board was looking to follow our past practice in naming our vessels after geographic areas. [The contest] was hugely successful we got more than 8,000 people submitting more than 9,000 names— so a great response to that," Driscoll said.
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The two new vessels will replace the aging M/V Gay Head and M/V Katama and were purchased from Hornbeck Offshore Services in Louisiana. The SA said the vessels cost $30 million, which includes the cost of refurbishing and retrofitting.
They'll be put to good use too, as the SA says the pair are being repurposed to accommodate passenger and freight ferry service, something expected to start up between late spring and early summer next year.
The M/V Katama (pictured here) is set to be replaced next year. Photo: Getty Images
Before shipping up to the Commonwealth, M/V Aquinnah and M/V Monomoy were used as oil and gas industry transports off the Gulf Coast.
WBZ's Tim Dunn (@ConsiderMeDunn) reports.
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