Continued crew shortages at the Steamship Authority led to ferry cancellations throughout the weekend. 

The boat line Saturday morning canceled eight trips aboard the M/V Woods Hole due to a lack of available crew members. Steamship spokesperson Sean Driscoll said the shutdown was due to a crew member who could not be replaced. 

The Steamship Authority was able to accommodate customers who were waiting Saturday to travel on the Woods Hole route by running vessels later in the day. But that led to a skewing of the schedule on Sunday to make sure that deck officers got the mandatory rest required by the U.S. Coast Guard. 

On Sunday, the Steamship Authority ended up canceling trips on the Island Home and the Martha’s Vineyard, to get the vessels back on schedule due to delayed boardings. 

“Without this step, trips would need to be canceled today or tomorrow morning due to crew hour limits and needed rest periods,” the Steamship Authority wrote to customers Sunday morning. “Canceling this trip now will afford our staff more opportunities to accommodate customers this afternoon.” 

The Steamship Authority has struggled in recent months to keep boats manned and even made schedule cuts in an attempt to reduce the number of unexpected cancellations. But deck officers have said that staffing is running on razor thin margins, meaning a single worker calling out sick can sideline ferries. 

To add to the woes over the weekend, the Steamship Authority’s reservation office in Mashpee was without power for some of Saturday morning due to a storm on the mainland. Power was restored before noon.