||| FROM CAPE COD TIMES |||
HYANNIS — Unconscionable was the word Peter Jeffrey, Falmouth representative and secretary of the Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority Board, used to describe cancellations and delays that plagued the Authority’s Woods Hole schedules Saturday and Sunday.
The absence of a licensed deck officer on Saturday set delays and ultimately cancellations in motion for passengers and their cars traveling from Falmouth to Martha’s Vineyard, according to a statement from Authority General Manager Robert Davis.
Four round trips between Martha’s Vineyard and Woods Hole on the M/V Woods Hole were cancelled on Saturday. The M/V Woods Hole can carry 453 passengers and crew and up to 55 vehicles.
Another four round trips were cancelled on Sunday because of the backlog, Sunday boarding delays, and rest requirements for maritime transportation workers, according to the statement by Davis.
Two early morning Sunday runs on the M/V Island Home, which can carry 1,210 persons and up to 76 vehicles, were cancelled.
Two later runs at 5 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. on the M/V Martha’s Vineyard were cancelled and passengers with reservations for the 6:15 p.m. schedule had to report to the Vineyard Haven terminal, rather than Oak Bluffs, for standby travel.
The M/V Martha’s Vineyard can carry up to 1,274 persons and 54 vehicles.
In a phone call Tuesday, Jeffrey said he didn’t think there was enough of a strategic plan in place to hire and retain staff, especially in light of retirements that are coming up. Management has been reaching out to maritime academies and sending representatives to job fairs, but Jeffrey wants to see a more detailed recruitment plan.
“I think it reflects management’s overall failure to properly recruit and retain employees as well as have a communication plan in place,” Jeffrey said. “I think that was equally frustrating not only for the traveling public but for our terminal workers.”
