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NANTUCKET, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Steamship Authority expects minimal to no schedule disruptions this summer after dealing with recent staffing shortages, the transport operator said Thursday.
According to a statement from general manager Robert Davis, the Steamship Authority experienced a labor shortage starting in mid-May resulting from a lack of availability of licensed deck captains (pilots and ferry captains), as well as the longer than anticipated certification of 10 U.S. Coast Guard crew members.
The labor shortage caused scheduling changes that included canceling the final daily round-trip on the passenger-only high-speed ferry on the Hyannis/Nantucket route and occasional changes to a freight vessel schedule on the Woods Hole/Martha's Vineyard route.
"Since Thursday May 18th till Monday June 12th, the M/V Governor, one of the freight vessels assigned to the Vineyard route, missed 32 trips out of its scheduled 356 trips due to staffing shortages," Davis said in the statement. "Trip cancellations during this period were minimized by crews volunteering for overtime assignments. During this same time period, the M/V Iyanough, the high-speed passenger-only ferry on the Nantucket route, missed 52 trips out of its scheduled 260 trips due to staffing shortages."
Since June 12, the Steamship Authority, with the exception of the M/V Iyanough, has been "operating the approved schedule and anticipates that additional cancellations for crewing reasons will be minimal going forward," the statement continued.
"The Steamship Authority fully anticipates that any disruptions to travelers to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket this summer will be minimal – if any – as its staffing needs are resolved," Davis said.
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