New Steamship Authority Vessel To Make Maiden Voyage To Nantucket Today

After plying the waters of the Gulf Coast as an offshore supply vessel, then undergoing a multi-million dollar conversion in the Alabama Shipyard and making the trek north to Massachusetts, the Steamship Authority's newest vessel will officially be commissioned today and make its first trip to Nantucket.

The M/V Barnstable will serve as a freight boat for the Steamship Authority, hauling passengers, cars, and trucks to the islands. It will primarily serve on the Nantucket route and replaces the M/V Gay Head, which was sold by the Steamship Authority last week.

Following a ceremony this morning at the Hyannis terminal, the M/V Barnstable will sail for Nantucket at noon. The vessel will be available for public, self-guided tours from approximately 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Nantucket Terminal before departing to berth for the night in Hyannis.

The M/V Barnstable is one of three sister ships purchased by the Authority in 2022 from Hornbeck Offshore Services of Covington, Louisiana. The vessel, along with the M/V Aquinnah and M/V Monomoy, was converted for use by the Steamship Authority at Alabama Shipyard in Mobile, Alabama. The purchase and conversion costs were made possible, in part, via an agreement with the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority that yielded $28.1 million in federal funding.

During the M/V Barnstable conversion project, the vessel was bisected, and its midbody was removed to reduce its overall length to 245 feet. The vessel is outfitted with two Caterpillar engines, each rated at 2,000 horsepower, two controllable pitch propellers, and three 950 horsepower thrusters to allow for greater maneuverability. The vessel also boasts state-of-the-art radar, communications, and navigation systems, two marine evacuation systems, a rescue boat, and an interior passenger area with seating for approximately 80 passengers. The vessel can carry the equivalent of approximately 50 automobiles per trip.

Despite some deep reservations and criticisms of the Steamship Authority’s management, the boat line’s board of governors voted unanimously in April 2023 to pay $27 million to retrofit two out of the three used vessels purchased to replace its aging freight boats.

The low bid from an Alabama shipyard to convert the two former offshore supply vessels at a cost of $13.6 million each was significantly higher than the Steamship’s projection of $9 million per boat. The misfire on the cost estimate prompted consternation by some members of the Steamship’s board of governors, but in the end, all members voted to move forward with the vessel conversions.