After Structure Collapse, Timeline Uncertain To Reopen North Slip At Steamboat Wharf

A 148,000-pound concrete dolphin that collapsed and sank at Steamboat Wharf after being hit by a departing ferry last Saturday was lifted out of Nantucket Harbor today, but the timeline to reopen the north slip to vessel traffic remains uncertain. The Steamship Authority could not rule out the possibility that the situation could linger into the summer months, setting up the potential for additional delays and congestion at the south slip, which is now the only remaining docking area for its vessels.

While the removal operation was completed Friday, the exposed pipe piles will still be considered a marine hazard, the Steamship Authority stated on Wednesday, and rebuilding the concrete dolphin will likely require a protracted permitting and bidding process.

"The dive surveys have shown the pipe piles appear to be intact at the site of the incident and should be able to be reused to support a new dolphin," the Steamship said in a statement. "Engineering work is underway to develop a plan to repair the dolphin, but the project will require permitting and a public bid process before it can begin. The north vessel slip will remain closed until the repair is finished due to the marine hazard posed by the exposed pipe piles."

Asked specifically whether the closure of the north slip could persist into summer, the Steamship Authority's communications director, Sean Driscoll, stated "It's just too early to say what the timeline will be at this point. We will proceed as quickly as possible."

On Thursday and Friday, a crew from AGM Marine utilized a crane positioned on a the New Bedord barge "Triton" to hoist the fender and concrete dolphin out of the water.

The structure, one of eleven at Steamboat Wharf that were installed decades ago to assist the Steamship Authority vessels while docking. While the concrete dolphins are designed to absorb impacts by the Steamship Authority vessels as they are pulling into the slips, the collision with the port side of the M/V Eagle ferry as it was departing the north slip at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday knocked the concrete "clump" clean off its metal pilings.

Rob Ranney, Nantucket's representative on the Steamship Authority Board of Governors, shared his thoughts on the situation with the Current and addressed the possibility of the north slip closure lasting into the high season.

"I don't have an estimated timeline for work to be completed," Ranney said. "It's too soon for an estimate on that. It's also too soon to speculate on the possibility of going into the summer with just one slip. As for the impact on operations, however - currently there are two freight boats running in addition to the Eagle and the Iyanough. So far the biggest impacts are slight delays (five to 10 minutes) when a freight boat, or the Eagle, overlap at the dock with the fast ferry. For example, the Eagle has a 12-noon departure, and the fast ferry Iyanough has a 12-noon arrival. So there is a slight overlap.

"But as the season picks up, and it gets busier at the terminal, there is potential for some additional delays due to the timing of arrivals and departures and perhaps it taking a little longer to load and unload fuller vessels," Ranney continued. "SeaStreak's arrival and departure times are scheduled so as not to interfere with SSA operations, so hopefully that won't compound any timing delay issues when Seastreak begins service, if the slip has not been re-opened yet. One slip is obviously not ideal for staging and loading of vehicles. It is manageable, but it might put some added stress on SSA terminal personnel. Patience is always appreciated."