Steamship Fast Ferry Back In Service, Cracked Hull Repaired

The Steamship Authority's fast ferry, the M/V Iyanough returned to service Saturday morning after undergoing repairs for a crack in its hull. The vessel was sidelined for most of Thursday and Friday after being sent to the Fairhaven Shipyard for an assessment and repairs.

Steamship Authority communications director Sean Driscoll disclosed that the crack was roughly a foot long.

"The M/V Iyanough is en route to Hyannis from Fairhaven now after an inset was welded into the aluminum hull to repair an approximately one-foot crack," Driscoll said. "The first round trip has been canceled due to the transit time from Fairhaven to Nantucket, so the first trip to run will be the 11 a.m. – however the weather may not cooperate, so those decisions will be made on a trip-by-trip basis."

The crack was discovered Thursday morning in the aluminum hull of the Iyanough. The damage was located above the waterline in the rear of the boat, so the vessel will not have to be removed from the water for the repairs to be completed.