The Steamship Authority

The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority was established by the Massachusetts legislature in 1960. It is governed by a five-member board representing Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Falmouth, Barnstable and New Bedford, with a Port Council drawn from its port communities.

The Authority employs 750 people at peak season and has operating revenues of around $100 million. Its fleet includes the double-ended M/V Island Home (255 ft, 76 vehicles), the M/V Woods Hole, and the M/V Aquinnah, M/V Barnstable and M/V Monomoy, three former Hornbeck Offshore vessels bought in 2022 and converted at Alabama Shipyard, each with two 2,000 hp Caterpillar engines, two controllable pitch propellers and three 950 hp thrusters. Besides its terminals it runs a vessel maintenance facility in Fairhaven, a receiving warehouse in Falmouth and a reservation office in Mashpee.