BACKGROUND

     The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority is a public instrumentality created by the Massachusetts legislature to provide for adequate transportation of persons and necessaries of life for the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. The enabling legislation empowers the Authority to acquire, maintain and operate a boat line between the mainland ports of Woods Hole (Falmouth) and Hyannis (Barnstable) on the one hand, and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, on the other. The Authority's statutory mission is to serve as the "Lifeline to the Islands" and it is the only ferry service for the Islands that carries both passengers and vehicles, including commercial freight trucks.

     The Authority's enabling act further provides licensing authority to the Authority to regulate the carriage of freight by water by private operators between the Massachusetts mainland and the Islands, as well as to regulate vessels certified by the U.S. Coast Guard to carry in excess of forty passengers in their operation between the Massachusetts mainland and the Islands. Such provisions, however, do not apply to so-called "grandfathered" services operating prior to May 1973. The Authority currently licenses private ferry operators to provide passenger service between New Bedford and Oak Bluffs (seasonal), New Bedford and Vineyard Haven (year-round), Falmouth and Edgartown (seasonal), Hyannis and Oak Bluffs (seasonal), Hyannis and Nantucket (both seasonal and year-round), and Harwichport and Nantucket (seasonal).

ORGANIZATION

     The Authority has its principal office in Woods Hole, Massachusetts with ferry terminals in Woods Hole and Hyannis on Cape Cod, terminals at Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs on the island of Martha's Vineyard, and a terminal on the island of Nantucket. The Authority owns and operates year-round parking lots in Woods Hole and Hyannis, and operates seasonal off-site parking lots in Falmouth, Bourne and Hyannis as well. The Authority also has a vessel maintenance facility in Fairhaven and a receiving warehouse in Falmouth, and it rents property in Edgartown and Mashpee for its two reservation offices.

     The Authority serves a complex clientele including year-round residents of the Islands who depend on the ferries for all commerce and transportation to and from the mainland, a significant seasonal population and tourist group, and the communities that serve as ports through which all traffic to the Islands pass. Each group has special needs and points of view that impact the Authority and how it does business.

     The popularity of the Islands for both residential and recreational purposes has been reflected in increasing traffic and demands for service. The Authority currently operates nine vessels (including a high-speed passenger-only ferry) carrying passengers, automobiles and freight trucks. The Authority employs 750 people (peak season) with a workforce that is almost totally unionized, with eight bargaining units represented by four different unions.

     The Authority's budget is supported by operating revenues of around $80 million. Since 1962, the Authority has had only four annual operating deficits, and it has not had to assess the taxpayers of the participating communities for monetary support since 1963. Additionally, the Authority has an on-time performance record of nearly 100 percent, with service interruptions generally caused only by inclement weather.

     The Authority is governed by a five-member board: A Nantucket resident appointed by the Nantucket County Commissioners; a Martha's Vineyard resident appointed by the Dukes County Commissioners; a Falmouth resident appointed by the Falmouth Selectmen; a Barnstable resident appointed by the Barnstable Town Council; and a New Bedford resident appointed by the Mayor of New Bedford, with the approval of the New Bedford City Council. Each of the Island board members has 35% of the members' combined vote; and each of the mainland board members has 10% of the members' combined vote.

Current Board Members

Chairman
Robert F. Ranney
Nantucket

Vice Chairman
Robert L. O'Brien
Barnstable

Secretary
Marc N. Hanover
Martha's Vineyard

Robert S. Marshall
Falmouth

John A. Tierney
New Bedford


     The Authority also has a seven-member advisory board known as the Port Council, whose members are appointed by the municipal authorities of the following communities: Barnstable; Fairhaven; Falmouth; Nantucket; New Bedford; Oak Bluffs; and Tisbury.

Current Port Council Members

Chairman
Robert V. Huss
Oak Bluffs

Vice Chairman
Robert R. Jones
Barnstable

Secretary
George J. Balco
Tisbury

Frank J. Rezendes
Fairhaven

Nathaniel E. Lowell
Nantucket

Edward C. Anthes-Washburn
New Bedford

S. Eric Asendorf
Falmouth