Hy-Line Cruises Adds Fuel Surcharge To All Fares

Citing the volatile fuel market, Hy-Line Cruises will impose a new fuel surcharge today on all of its ferry services, as well as commuter book passes.



A $3 surcharge will be added to all ticket prices on Hy-Line Cruises’ ferries, including Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and the inter-island ferry route. A new $30 surcharge will be added to the purchase of any commuter book.

Murray Scudder, president of Hy-Line Cruises, told the Current on Tuesday that his company held off on imposing the surcharge as long as it could in hopes the fuel market would stabilize, but prices have continued to escalate.

“It is dramatic,” Scudder said. “We’ve been absorbing it for months now in hopes that it would stabilize or go down because we hate to pass it along if we don’t have to. But it is so exorbitant now, we can’t afford to keep doing this. We hope things start changing down the road, but I’m not holding my breath for a quick turnaround.”

The last time Hy-Line Cruises imposed a fuel surcharge was back in 2009, Scudder added. It was in place for a matter of months before being removed, while ticket prices were permanently raised slightly to coincide with the end of the surcharge, but not by an equivalent amount.

All of Hy-Line Cruises’ vessels run on diesel fuel, which has seen massive increases in recent months. Scudder said the company’s fleet gets fueled up in Hyannis via trucks that deliver fuel directly to them.