213
Since 1964, the tall ship Shenandoah has brought picturesque maritime charm to Vineyard Haven, moored in the same place in the harbor. But maybe not for much longer.
The Army Corps of Engineers has written to the owners of the 150-foot wooden sloop, the Douglas family, threatening to suspend the permit for the ship to moor there unless they can come up with some solution that resolves persistent complaints from the Steamship Authority that the Shenandoah is a hazard to ferry operations.
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.
Legislation designed to protect migrating right whales could have an unintended, devastating impact on ferry services to the Vineyard and Nantucket, the Steamship Authority has warned.
Under draft rules attached to the legislation, any sighting of a right whale would trigger the imposition of a strict, 10-knot speed limit on ships more than 65 feet long, operating within a so-called “dynamic management area” with a 36-mile radius, for 15 days from the time of the sighting.
Fares for both cars and passengers on Steamship Authority ferries will go up beginning May 1 as a result of soaring world energy prices.
Passenger fare increases on both the Vineyard and Nantucket routes were recommended by boat line management at the April governors’ meeting in New Bedford on Tuesday. The fare hikes are expected to raise an extra $1.5 million in revenue to offset fuel price increases.
But after a long discussion, boat line governors called for raising vehicle rates as well, to provide a further financial cushion of some $575,000.
The Steamship Authority appears likely to go to court to stop a Vineyard barge operator from bringing rental cars to and from the Island for the summer tourist season.
SSA general manager Wayne Lamson told a meeting of the boat line governors on Tuesday that repeated warnings to the barge operator had gone unheeded, and that any further shipments would bring legal action.
Ralph Packer, who owns Tisbury Towing and Transportation, said yesterday he believed the company was entitled to continue the practice.
Rising world oil prices have blown a million dollar hole in the budget of the Steamship Authority and forced the boat line to refigure its budget for a second time.
However, governors balked at management’s advice that they should immediately consider fare increases to cover the extra projected cost, opting instead to put off any revenue decisions until January.
If the price of oil remains high, governors will consider measures that include a fuel surcharge.
