At the beginning of the summer season, the Steamship Authority decided to cut back on its schedule to reduce the risk of unexpected cancellations due to razor thin staffing margins. And yet, the cancellations keep coming.
At the beginning of the summer season, the Steamship Authority decided to cut back on its schedule to reduce the risk of unexpected cancellations due to razor thin staffing margins. And yet, the cancellations keep coming, often at the last minute, leaving passengers scrambling to find alternative slots or waiting hours in standby lines.
On Saturday, the boat line had to cancel eight trips on the Vineyard route due to crew shortages, sending ripples through the schedule on one of the busiest weekends of the year and ringing alarm bells for Steamship officials.
More trips were sidelined on Sunday, and the Steamship had other cancellations on Monday and Tuesday, some for mechanical breakdowns. On Thursday this week, eight more trips on the Vineyard route were canceled because of the lack of crew.
The rise in cancellations has been frustrating for James Malkin, the Vineyard’s representative on the Steamship board.
“I am very unhappy and very concerned that the sudden surge in trip cancellations due to lack of crew is adversely impacting Islanders,” he said this week.
Customers wait in line at the Vineyard Haven terminal earlier this summer.
Customers wait in line at the Vineyard Haven terminal earlier this summer.
With almost half of the year still to be tallied up, Steamship Authority cancellations on the Vineyard and Nantucket are nearly as high as all of 2023. Last year, the Steamship Authority canceled 1,030 ferries for the entire year; in just the first seven months of 2024, the boat line canceled 987, a majority due to crew shortages.
Cancellations encompass scheduled trips that were not run due to mechanical, weather, crewing and other reasons, including consolidated trips. From January to July 2024, 417 trips were canceled due to a lack of crew, compared to 277 for all of 2023, according to Steamship data provided to the Gazette.
“We’ve already reduced the schedule this summer and we are still missing trips because of shortages,” Mr. Malkin said.
The Steamship Authority noted some caveats in the figures to consider. Boat line spokesperson Sean Driscoll pointed out that 138 cancellations on the Vineyard route counted in the tally were previously scheduled trips aboard the Sankaty ferry, which were later cut entirely as part of the scheduled scale-back in June due to the lack of crew.
That’s not the typical cancellation for a call out sick, and the larger Woods Hole ferry was shifted over to the Vineyard route to cover for the Sankaty’s absence, resulting in about the same number of vehicle spaces available.
But the lack of crew and the potential for cascading cancellations was on display when just a single absence by a licensed deck officer on Saturday left customers scrambling more than 24 hours later.
On Saturday, one crew member aboard the M/V Woods Hole could not make their scheduled shift on the Vineyard route, resulting in four canceled round trips aboard the Steamship Authority’s second largest vessel.
Those customers got pushed to other boats, when space was available, and the cancellations led to boarding delays throughout the day as the Steamship tried to accommodate people. The delays created longer hours for employees, which then skewed their schedules on Sunday in order to meet mandatory rest periods from the U.S. Coast Guard. That prompted the Steamship Authority to cancel ferries on Sunday to get the schedule back on track.
“We understand the inconvenience and how disappointing . . . it can be for people trying to travel,” Mr. Driscoll said. “Everyone is trying to get everyone where they need to go.”
Ebba Hierta, an Edgartown resident, was one of the travelers caught up in the chaos.
Ms. Hierta was scheduled to leave the Island Sunday evening to get to Boston ahead of an early Monday morning medical appointment. Her 6:15 p.m. departure was one of the ferries canceled.
She called the reservation office and was told to go to Vineyard Haven with her proof of appointment to get into medical standby. Behind the scenes, employees at Steamship Authority were able to get her on a 5:20 p.m. boat out of Oak Bluffs, so she drove across Lagoon Pond to the neighboring town.
She blamed upper management for communication breakdowns between customers and passengers, but heaped praise on frontline staff who were doing everything they could to make the best of the bad situation.
The Woods Hole, the second largest ferry in the Steamship fleet, has been sidelined twice in the last week due to crew shortages.
The Woods Hole, the second largest ferry in the Steamship fleet, has been sidelined twice in the last week due to crew shortages.
“The level of coordination by the frontline people who make this outfit run was astounding,” Ms. Hierta said. “I was so grateful that these people who are in the midst of chaos could still be cool, calm and collected to help an Islander in need.”
But with the short-staffed crews, Ms. Hierta worried that the issue would persist.
“Before, [cancellations due to crew shortages] was such a rarity and now it’s the norm,” she said. “[General Manager Robert Davis] hasn’t done anything to make sure that they are an attractive employer and they can compete in the marketplace.”
Earlier this summer, the Steamship Authority said it was about 10 officers short of the number of captains and pilots the boat line would want in an ideal world. The Steamship Authority has struggled to attract officers. One captain also retired this week and the boat line is expecting more retirements later this year.
The issue is part of a lack of licensed deck officers across the country and beyond, according to Mr. Driscoll.
“It’s not a secret that there is a global shortage of qualified mariners and it’s not a secret that we are a victim of that as well,” he said.
The Steamship Authority is currently in contract negotiations with its licensed deck officer union, Teamsters Local No. 59. Captains with the union have said that pay below the industry standard and longer hours working at the Steamship Authority remain the focus for the union.
One captain told the Gazette last week that both the Steamship Authority and the union were working diligently to get a contract in place.
Union spokesperson Matt McQuaid denied that any call-outs were the result of a coordinated work stoppage.
“This was in no way, shape or form the result of an intentional or coordinated work stoppage,” Mr. McQuaid said. “Not by Teamsters Local 59, nor by any of our members. Crew shortages are a problem that many steamship operators across the country are currently grappling with.”
Mr. Driscoll declined to go into detail about the closed-door contract talks.
From his perspective on the board, Mr. Malkin wanted the boat line’s senior management to come up with ideas to alleviate the lack of crew members, as well as let travelers know when issues arise. He said something as simple as electronic signs at the terminal letting customers know about delays — like at an airport — would go a long way.
“These are simple things that I have been talking about that haven’t happened,” he said. “People who travel here are used to airplanes.”
Both the Steamship Authority and the union have acknowledged that turning around the worker shortage issue will take time. Even if the Steamship Authority could hire captains tomorrow, they need to get acclimated to the region and learn how to navigate the different boats on the two routes.
In the meantime, the expected cancellations will likely continue when deck officers get sick, stretching schedules and people’s tempers. Mr. Driscoll said every effort is made before canceling a boat, but there’s only so many people who can pilot the ferries.
“When these things happen, we always check with everyone,” he said. “You can’t run a vessel without the right mix of crew and you certainly can’t run without the right mix of licensed deck officers.”
According to Mr. Malkin, the boat line needs to work harder to create an environment where people want to come work.
“The current status quo is not satisfying to the Islanders of Martha’s Vineyard,” he said.
Comments
the tourist industry, the
Michael edgartownthe tourist industry, the only industry will soon be non existent on your island.......
Yep!
Ashley Strong Oak BluffsYep!
This is a complete joke! Why
Jim EdgartownThis is a complete joke! Why does the General manger keeping getting raises and 10 star rating???
I don’t get it!
Whatever the reason or
AM 02539Whatever the reason or reasons, this record of cancellations is simply not acceptable. The ferry is quite literally a life line to the Island. While no one can expect perfection, there need to be steps taken on the staffing side.
What steps?
Albert GosnoldWhat steps?
More pay?
Better working conditions?
I could just as easily say to
James Edgartown, MAI could just as easily say to you, “so what do you propose? Doing nothing?” Years could go by with that kind of silly back and forth, and zero progress. In fact, they have. As far as I can tell, these conditions are the culmination of years of buck passing, lack of accountability, and monopoly power. I don’t accept that the Steamship Authority is helpless to resolve the. The bottom line is, this situation is untenable. Something needs to be done, and it’s not my job or yours to figure out what that is. It’s the job of our vaunted representatives, appointed overseers, and steamship authority management.
This is an example of the
JT MVThis is an example of the Competency Crisis that is unraveling right now everywhere. When the pay for jobs that require training, skill, and responsibility are the same as jobs that do not, do not be surprised when people choose the latter.
With the amount of cancellations this year due to staff shortages and one person calling out sick canceling multiple boats, the SSA is in a very precarious situation and recent Mass Maritime grads are not going to be the sustainable solution. Simply put, pay your employees a livable wage and don't run a skeleton crew 24/7/365 and all these 'problems' go away.
The SSA should invest less
Elizabeth EdgartownThe SSA should invest less money in the tourism side of the business--buildings, amenities, foot passengers, etc.--and more money in in the lifeline side of the business--providing transportation for cars and freight. That shift in priorities would focus on boats that can transport more cars and trucks per trip and hiring personnel to staff those boats. If boats weren't running at capacity all day long there would be more wiggle room in the schedule to account for delays and cancelations.
Does Bob Davis have any Coast
BB Oak BluffsDoes Bob Davis have any Coast Guard certification? All hands on deck.
Ferry problem? What ferry
CLK ChilmarkFerry problem? What ferry problem? Why can't they just use convenient private jets to fly in their architects, consultants, private chefs, nurses and assorted staff and supplies, like I do? Really... ( Marie Antoinette, 2024)
Organization and management-
Brian Vineyard havenOrganization and management- both are lacking - you have the Island Queen in Falmouth and the Seastreak in New Bedford- they have competent staff and they do not cancel boats - the you have the Maritime Academy in Buzzard’s Bay - great place for paid interns - is it management that is competent or is the union at fault for many of these cancellations?
The Island Queen cancels
Albert GosnoldThe Island Queen cancels boats.
Seastreak regularly cancels boats.
the Maritime Academy in Buzzard’s Bay trains deep water sailors
The governor needs to call
Bobby AlbanyThe governor needs to call out the National Guard. She also needs to look at replacing or supplementing the board of directors. They need fresh faces and creative thinkers who can address the problems and come up with solutions. Ultimately it falls on the board to provide direction and structure to Bob Davis and his managment team. It seems they've lost their way and they seem all too willing to accept failures of what seems to me to their critical reason for being: providing safe and reliable transportation to and from the Vineyard.
Ah yes, truly a worthwhile
Slater MVAh yes, truly a worthwhile use of the National Guard. Dear lord where do people get these ideas???
Agree with Elizabeth.
Chris EdgartownAgree with Elizabeth. Especially the multi-million dollar ticket office in Woods Hole as an example. The current ticket office seems to be just fine, and many passengers are now moving to e-ticketing. Money better spent on crew compensation.
Hyline Cruises doesn’t have
John NantucketHyline Cruises doesn’t have this problem
Just saying
How do you like Hy-Line
Albert GosnoldHow do you like Hy-Line Cruises winter service?
Just say it loud and clear
The solution to the SSA's
John VHThe solution to the SSA's continuous mismanagement is competition for car and freight service. So long as this monopoly remains in place, the SSA has zero incentive to change its ways. Capital projects have been materially overspent, the deployment of the new website - which excludes a new reservation system - is a year late and also overspent, boats are experiencing chronic mechanical issues, and regular crew staffing shortages are leading to record trip cancellations. All examples of the SSA leadership's acceptance of failure. The Board's fiduciary responsibility is to hold the leadership team accountable for performance or, in this case, lack thereof.
As a year-round resident i am
J. Ameen EdgartownAs a year-round resident i am appalled by the SSA performance, SSA management/leadership, and the Board. It is time for the Board and SSA senior management to hold a meeting with residents to present a plan to address the issues. First and foremost this is a lifeline for residents; it sure doesn't feel like a trustworthy one right now. Residents need to demand a detailed plan - made public- we've given the Board and management enough time to do their basic jobs. It is not happening, and we need to understand why and what is going to be done to address the poor performance of the Board and management, in addition to the operational problems. This is not rocket science. Mr Malkin - you need to make this happen.
The Board is appointed by the
Albert GosnoldThe Board is appointed by the people we elect.
It's not rocket science.
Elections have consequences.
We islanders have been
Sheila EdgartownWe islanders have been griping for years about how the island is overcrowded and there are too many cars here in the Summer. I think Steamship leadership has found the solution -- offer unreliable service, make life a hassle for those tourists who are arriving/leaving for a 1 or 2 week vacation, and then they'll never return. Voila. A brilliant tactical move by Robert Davis to ease our congestion. Keep it up, sir! I'm certain there's a pay raise in it for you.
Sadly, many of those impacted
Geoffrey R Vineyard HavenSadly, many of those impacted tourists have been burned by our lifeline this summer, both coming and going. Vacationing here is very expensive. But stealing time from families on vacation is costly in other ways. I think you're right - they won't be back. Letting manpower fall below critical levels and burning out the remaining crew members is a problem that will take many summers to recover from.
The enabling legislation
Frank Brunelle TisburyThe enabling legislation allowed monoplizarion of servece for essential services to residents. It was necessary to do so to insure adequate service. There was a prolongued battle over a second slip in Vineyard Haven that was resolved by the SSA promising it was only for emergencies. Now all restraints are put asside as the SSA goals are maximum tourism.
Will the arrival of the new
MJF WTWill the arrival of the new vessels, whenever they get here, change any of this?
At least in theory, being newer, they should be more reliable.
Are the crew requirements to run
them the same as it it is to run the current fleet?
This data is from Aquinnah.
Frank Brunelle- TisburyThis data is from Aquinnah. Island Emissions ---
In a baseline year of 2018, the Island emitted approximately 270,000 metric tons (606 million pounds) of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the emissions of approximately 60,000 cars in one year. This data shows us our biggest opportunities to reduce emissions that we produce. ---- These numbers are shocking enoug but 2018 is quite different from 2024, plus it only measures automonbile impact. If aircraft, steamshipw, power boats now with multiple outbord engines are included would it increase overall impact 40 percent ? That would amount to one million pounds of Co2 emissions from our island!
Staffing is not a problem
John Cape CodStaffing is not a problem that only exists at the SSA, it is country wide issue in all industries. At my workplace we are experiencing the same problem running short staffed due to retirements of long-term employees. Even though competitive wages / benefits are offered, our company has not been able to hire qualified replacements who want to work for a living. The result is the same as SSA's problem as work doesn't get done that effects the daily operation of our $1.5-billion-dollar company. This is the norm going forward Islanders and won't change until qualified workers are available to enter the work force which applies to all industries, not just the SSA.
Apparently failure is an
MarieApparently failure is an option
Run the boats 24 hours a day.
CHRISTOPHER TisburyRun the boats 24 hours a day. A 25 present increase in capacity. Workers on the islands wouldn't need to live here.
Only reservations for trucks.
Trucks could make deliveries at night when the roads aren't packed.
The folks in Wood Hole &
Island Mike MVThe folks in Wood Hole & Falmouth aren't going to like that too much.
Nothing will change until
Don Pesh Oak BluffsNothing will change until they privatize the SSA. Good money will go to bad policies, incompetence, and bad ideas and the government will bail them out, year after year. Just like the USPS, the MBTA, etc…
Riiigght, because
Carol formerly ChilmarkRiiigght, because privatization worked so well for healthcare . . . .
I had a 9:30 am car
Christine SengeI had a 9:30 am car reservation today and was stopped by police to tell me I couldn't get to the boat because of the Falmouth Road Race. Why did the Steamship Authority allow people to make car reservations on boats that they could not access because of the this road race?! And when I called the reservation office they told me there were no other boats available for people with car reservations for the rest of the day. So I needed to drive back to Boston for a reservation the following day!
The Gazette published an
Ryan DC/OBThe Gazette published an article earlier in the month advising that there would be some issues
https://vineyardgazette.com/news/2024/08/05/fireworks-road-race-change-…
"The authority also asks travelers to arrive at the terminal by 8 a.m. if they are taking any ferry scheduled from 8:15 to 9:50 that morning."
I used to think it would be
TisKid MVI used to think it would be good to have less visitors to the island. More balance and higher quality of life. This isn't how I wanted that. It looks like some of us might get our wish and have to admit we were wrong. Or perhaps we will somehow turn out to have been correct. In a way. I'm not sure anyone anticipated labor and material shortages as tech and international trade improved.
Thanks SSA for making me miss
Klinkity NativeThanks SSA for making me miss my flight to Florida!
I believe we are in for a
Andrew Poista Edgartown/TexasI believe we are in for a long winter, unless the government comes in to make effective changes. Otherwise save up for hotels this winter.
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