Hy-Line To Build New High-Speed Ferry For Nantucket Route

Hy-Line Cruises intends to build a new high-speed ferry that will provide service to Nantucket and augment the boat line's existing fleet of vessels.

The high-speed catamaran will be built at a shipyard along the Gulf Coast and is expected to be delivered to Hy-Line Cruises in the first or second quarter of 2028.

"It will be a sister ship to the Gray Lady IV because we already have a design, we already have that in place, and we know we have no issues operationally with her in terms of accessing our facilities," Murray Scudder, President of Hy-Line Cruises, told the Current. "We're very excited."

The Grey Lady IV, which is the Hy-Line Cruises' youngest vessel, was built in 2016 at the Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding yard in Somerset, Mass. The 151-foot catamaran features an aluminum hull and can reach speeds of 30 knots. It is one of four high-speed ferries owned by Hy-Line Cruises.

The news regarding the new high-speed catamaran was disclosed on Tuesday during a joint meeting of the Steamship Authority's Board of Governors and Port Council, as a renewal of Hy-Line Cruises' license to operate the ferry service was under discussion. Under the terms of its license agreement with the Steamship Authority, Hy-Line Cruises was required to secure approval from the SSA Board of Governors to move forward with the new vessel project.

"We are always honored and grateful to provide these services to the islands of Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and between them," Scudder said. "It's our desire to always provide the greatest service that we can. Service has always been our number one priority. It's becoming increasingly challenging to provide the service that we want to do with the number of vessels and the extent of our services, the older they get. This past season, we had a number of breakdowns. It's harder to schedule maintenance during them, so we are going to hopefully be contracting to build a new high-speed ferry. This will provide greater levels of - not levels of service - but uninterrupted service when breakdowns occur. This past season, we've had a number of operational issues caused by maintenance that could have likely been avoided had we had more time in shipyards and things of that nature. So that'll be the positive impact of building this new high-speed ferry."

Under the Steamship Authority's enabling legislation, passed by state lawmakers in 1960, it was granted the sole authority to provide ferry transportation from the mainland to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.  The law gave the Steamship Authority regulatory authority over private ferry operators seeking to serve the islands, which is why Hy-Line Cruises must obtain a license and pay fees to the SSA.

Steamship Authority general manager Bob Davis, in his final meeting leading the boat line, stated that Hy-Line Cruises carried 900,000 passengers in 2023, resulting in license fees of $2.9 million. In 2024, Hy-Line Cruises transported 940,000 passengers, generating $3.3 million in fees to the Steamship Authority.

"They are currently, through October, at 2.6 million (passengers)," Davis added. "I would anticipate, based on just putting in last year's numbers, that they'll be exceeding that 3.3 million."

During Tuesday's discussion, New Bedford representative Moira Tierney raised questions about the license renewal and whether the Steamship Authority should take a closer look at Hy-Line Cruises' financial statements.

"We are entitled to review Hy-Lines' financials to make sure that our financial engagement with them is appropriate," Tierney said. "I've been on the board since June of 2015, and I've never yet seen Hy-Line's financials. I've requested a number of times that we be able to review these, and I think it's an important consideration... We have to be concerned about diverting our own revenue. I certainly recognize the benefits of this relationship, and I'm not trying to stir the pot in any manner, but I think we have a fiduciary responsibility to review those financials."

Those comments drew a strong response from Nat Lowell, who serves as Nantucket's representative on the Steamship Authority Port Council.

"When we start talking about this, this is when my blood pressure starts going up," Lowell said. "Hy-Line is a partner of us. Period. End of story. Case closed. Nantucket - it's all baked in. The system is baked in since 1996, okay? And if you don't live there, you can't figure that out that easily, okay? I'm not suggesting that what you're saying, Peter (Jeffrey), and Rob (Munier), and Moira (Tierney), is wrong, I'm not saying that...The amount of money that we generate from the Hy-Line's licensing fee is significant. They're running in the dead of winter, and things happen in the dead of winter. You don't see restaurants open in the dead of winter unless there's some kind of money to be made. They're taking a risk in the winter. We're in drydock, maintaining our vessel to the highest level we can, which is good. It's the aluminum lifeline. I said that, how many years ago? That's the way it works. It's just the way it works, and it's going to stay that way over my dead body."