Updated March 16
The Steamship Authority hasn’t cut service or restricted passengers as of Monday, even as the MBTA has ceased all ferry operations.
“We will continue to run until we are told not to by the state or federal government or until we are unable to do so due to sickness or other external factors,” SSA spokesman Sean Driscoll wrote.
The governor has prohibited bar patronage and dining in restaurants however the SSA may be immune to the order. Food service is still active in SSA terminals and onboard ferries.
“[Governor] Baker’s order limiting gatherings of more than 25 people does not apply to transit agencies,” Driscoll wrote. “As always, we ask our customers to maintain precautionary measures, such as frequent hand washing and maintaining ‘social distance,’ while on board authority vessels and buses, and if they are sick or believe they may be sick to not travel. We are checking with DPH on the applicability of the restaurant order to our concessions operations.”
Driscoll described the idea of screening passengers “strictly theoretical” and potentially legally problematic.
“[The] potential screening of passengers has been discussed at a strictly theoretical level, but a number of logistical, operational and legal challenges would come into play,” he wrote. “At this point we are not planning to implement screening unless directed to do so by state or federal authorities.”
However in Maine, one Island is screening out passengers not by whether they show signs of infection, but by where they live. The island town of North Haven, Maine, in Penobscot Bay has shut itself off to nonresidents as of 11 am March 16, the Bangor Daily News reported.
“Until further notice, visitors and seasonal residents will no longer be permitted to travel to the island of North Haven in an attempt to protect the community from the spread of the coronavirus,” Bangor Daily News reported.
North Haven receives year round ferries from the Maine State Ferry Service.
“The town administrator notified Maine State Ferry Service management on Sunday night,” Maine State Ferry Service spokesman Paul Merrill emailed.
Merrill said Gov. Janet Mills’ office issued a brief statement: “The administration is reviewing the town’s order. The Maine Department of Transportation is running ferry service as normally scheduled.”
No governmental body on the Vineyard has yet voted to restrict who comes to the Island.
SSA Chairman Jim Malkin said over the weekend that rumors have run amok that the SSA plans to pare down service in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. “That’s not the case,” he said. Malkin said there are no cuts planned for trips, vessels, or crews. Furthermore, in the event the commonwealth hands down an order prohibiting nonessential travel, Malkin said he has been working to ensure medicine, groceries, and other essential freight continues to flow to the Vineyard. “I’m hoping for the best,” he said, “but I want the SSA to be prepared for the worst.”
Malkin also said Tisbury board of health member Michael Loberg, a former biotech executive, has been chosen to be the Vineyard medical community’s liaison to the ferry line. The choice of Loberg for the role was supported by Martha’s Vineyard Hospital CEO Denise Schepici, he said. Loberg will convey advice to the SSA from the Vineyard medical community and from the Vineyard’s emergency managers, including how best it can assist the Island during the pandemic and how best to ensure the wellbeing of passengers and crew. SSA director of shoreside operations, Alison Fletcher will be Loberg’s SSA point of contact, Malkin said.
“She will also oversee the implementation of recommendations regarding proactive measures to counteract the spread of the virus,” he said.
Malkin stressed, “the SSA has no plans to stop service to and from the Island.”
The Coast Guard hasn’t conveyed any intention to alter ferry service on the Island or elsewhere in the area, Station Menemsha Officer in Charge Justin Longval said. Longval noted he’s observed SSA crewmembers regularly “wiping down all common surfaces” on vessels.
Additionally, routine cleaning is underway inside the Vineyard Haven terminal building.
“After each vessel arrives in Vineyard Haven, the entire terminal [building] is washed down and all surfaces treated with bleach and disinfectant,” Malkin said. In various places throughout the terminal, the SSA has posted signs reading, “Please practice social distancing. Thank you!”
The SSA website says much the same, “If you are traveling without a vehicle, we encourage our passengers to spread out while sitting on board to maintain a safe distance from each other.”
And it recommends vehicle passengers remain in their vehicles for the duration of crossings.
It further states, “Please take advantage of our handwashing stations in the restrooms and our hand sanitizers throughout the vessels. Staying clean is key to staying healthy.”
And it indicates the following policy change is in effect, “We are waiving all change and cancelation fees for reservations through April 30 to allow our customers the flexibility to make changes to their plans, if needed.”
Driscoll offered one caveat to reducing service. Should too many crew members become ill, service would have to be curtailed as the ferries have a minimum compliment per Coast Guard regulations and couldn’t be safely operated with skeleton crews.
“The best of all is if you sit outside,” Tufts professor Sam Telford, director of the New England Regional Biosafety Laboratory in Grafton, told The Times. Telford said direct sunlight will kill the virus with greater speed on outdoor surfaces like seats. He also said outside spaces on a ferry can offer greater sneeze protection. “I think the ferries are actually being proactive,” he said regarding their wipe down procedures.
Telford said he thought his lab might be activated shortly to help stem the pandemic, as he is getting a number of calls. “I expect I will be growing that pathogen soon,” he said. The lab does up to biosafety level three work. Telford said biosafety level three pathogens include anthrax, powassan, eastern equine encephalitis, Tularemia, West Nile virus, and the novel coronavirus.
Telford was bullish on a vaccine. “I have every optimism that we will have a vaccine,” he said, adding perhaps as soon as six months from now.
Updated to add Monday’s developments. -ed.