ROCKLAND, Maine — Effective Saturday, those who use the state-run ferry service between Rockland and Vinalhaven should expect to see occasional reductions in capacity, a state transportation official said Thursday.
The reductions in capacity are expected to occur sporadically until funding is in place to hire one to two more crew members for the Captain E. Frank Thompson, the most modern and largest vessel in the fleet, Maine Department of Transportation spokesman Ted Talbot said Thursday.
The number of daily trips, however, will remain the same, Talbot said.
Funding for Maine State Ferry Service positions comes from ridership fees and the service is working to get the additional crew hands hired, Talbot said.
“This is a result of federal regulations through the U.S. Coast Guard under Homeland Security. Because of this security mandate, which helps to ensure the safety of all passengers, there are occasions where insufficient crew members are available for each and every run,” he said.
Talbot said that while state transportation officials do all they can to keep the Thompson running within the given safety standards in terms of staffing, there will be times when the MV Everett Libby, a smaller-capacity vessel, will have to take the place of the Thompson to meet the needs of ferry users.
Ample notification will be in place when this action needs to be taken, he said.
It is important to remember that the number of trips will not be affected, only lowered capacity when called for.
Christened in April, the Captain E. Frank Thompson is the midcoast area’s first new ferry in almost 20 years.
At 154 feet, it also is the largest of the three ferries serving Vinalhaven. It can carry 22 vehicles and 250 passengers, compared to the Governor Curtis and the Captain Charles Philbrook, both of which are 130 feet long and able to carry 17 vehicles each and roughly the same number of passengers.
According to a news story recently published by the Bangor Daily News, the Philbrook will continue to operate on the same run, while the Governor Curtis will be kept as the primary backup vessel when another ferry is out of service.
The vessels will continue to make three runs a day each to and from Vinalhaven and Rockland.
The Vinalhaven route is 15 miles one way and takes one hour and 15 minutes. Last year, the ferries carried about 150,000 passengers back and forth from Vinalhaven.
For up-to-date information on ferry schedules and daily operations, call the Maine State Ferry Service at 800-491-4883 or visit http://www.maine.gov/mdot/msfs.
$9.5 Million vessel, and can’t afford to staff it?
Design issues. Captain can not see the bow or stern from the wheel house and the rub rails had to be cut away so vehicles could park 3 wide. Not to mention the usually broken down elevator. Time for privitization.
So we privatize the road to Vinalhaven. How about we privatize the road outside your house so that every time you want to go shopping 2 towns over you first fork over 10 bucks. Do you think gas tax pays for the road that connects you to the world? And if you do, why do they float bonds for financing and expect the folks in Vinalhaven to help pay for them?
In fact, I do live on a private road and must pay additional fees to the
road association for maintenance of the road; plowing, pot hole filling
etc. Living on a private road also means that services that persons
living on public roads receive are not available to me. i.e. trash pick
up at my address, mail delivery, certain utilities. I knew this when I
built my house and accepted it without complaint.
Another fact is that the ferry service on a net basis, loses money
with purchases of mainland originated tickets subsidizing those that
purchase discounted island originated tickets. (Chellie Pingree paying
her “fair share”?)
Privatization of the service would break no new ground as ferry
services across the country are operated under state guidelines at a
profit. Government operation of services is not always the best option.
One more fact: I work for Maine DOT.