M/V Sankaty To Split Trips Between Nantucket And Martha’s Vineyard

With the freight boat M/V Gay Head out of commission for repairs, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard will be splitting time with one of the Steamship’s other freight boats, the M/V Sankaty, until at least August 3.

SSA personnel discovered a 4-inch crack in the hull on the M/V Gay Head’s aft following the discovery of a small amount of water in its steering gear void, which prompted a survey of the vessel. The crack is above the waterline but the necessary repairs still require the vessel to be dry docked at Thames Shipyard in New London, Connecticut for replacement of the structural steel.

The vessel is now at the Authority’s Fairhaven repair facility and will sail to Thames on Monday morning, SSA Communications Director Sean Driscoll said in a release.

There are a few schedule changes relevant to Nantucket below. This schedule will continue until at least Wednesday, August 3, 2022. Decisions on future service will be made when more information is obtained about the timing of the necessary repairs to the M/V Gay Head.

Sunday Evening: The M/V Sankaty will make the M/V Gay Head’s last scheduled departure from Nantucket at 6:45 p.m., but will sail to Woods Hole instead of Hyannis. The vessel will sit in Woods Hole overnight.

Monday Morning: Following its scheduled arrival in Woods Hole at 11 a.m., the M/V Sankaty will load the traffic scheduled to take the M/V Gay Head’s 10:45 a.m. trip from Hyannis and depart to Nantucket, leaving at 11:15 a.m.. The Reservation Office will contact those customers scheduled on the 10:45 a.m. trip, which is scheduled as a hazardous materials trip, and tell them to report to Woods Hole.

Monday Evening: The M/V Sankaty will then run one round-trip between Nantucket and Hyannis, then the scheduled 6:45 p.m. departure from Nantucket to Hyannis will instead depart Nantucket at 8 p.m. and return to Woods Hole.