At the ferry line’s board of governors meeting Tuesday, Steamship staff said they were increasing the number of employees who can green light cancellations, expanding the call center hours and making other attempts to improve communication with customers about the status of ferries.
Only a small list of outstanding items, including load testing and making sure reservations can be canceled and changed, are left to straighten out before the Steamship Authority launches its new website.
Steamship general manager Robert Davis went to Washington, D.C. to talk to lawmakers about the proposed right whale protective measures as conservation groups call for a hard implementation deadline.
A new terminal in the Falmouth village has been talked about going back about 10 years, and plans for the controversial ticket building were initially approved by the board in 2019.
The Sankaty ferry was back up and running Monday after a crew shortage caused the Steamship Authority to cancel all of the freight ferry’s trips on Sunday.
Maintenance work at the Island terminal is scheduled to start on Wednesday, meaning the Sankaty ferry that normally makes the first departure from the Island will be berthed in Woods Hole instead of Vineyard Haven.
The M/V Aquinnah and M/V Barnstable have spent more than nine months at a shipyard in Mobile, Ala., transforming from offshore energy tenders to Steamship Authority freight ferries that can also carry passengers and cars.