HYANNIS – Almost four months after a Steamship Authority Ferry struck the Hyannis Port breakwater, costs associated with the incident continue to climb.
The ferry line estimates that the incident, in which 15 passengers were injured, has already cost nearly $2 million.
The ordeal has been a main issue for the Steamship Authority’s new General Manager Bob Davis, who took over the reins of the company not quite two weeks after the incident.
Davis said reduced fuel costs and the reduction in staff while the ship was out of commission bring the financial impact on the company to about $1.7 million.
That figure includes the recent addition of $207,000, which the Steamship Authority says it spent on charter vessels while the damaged Iyanough was receiving repairs following the crash.
Davis says it was important to the company to continue service to the islands for the sake of their customers and island businesses.
“It was important to us to be able to provide an outlet for our customers to be able to use a high speed service to the island,” he said, “it’s so important to the island for the inter-transportation network.”
The line also reports a $1 million loss in anticipated passenger fares, $500,000 in the subsequent loss in parking and concession revenue.
There was the $357,000 spent on further ferry charters and finally their $50,000 insurance deductible.
The incident occurred early this summer when the captain apparently misinterpreted a metal pole on the Hyannis breakwater for a buoy. The vessel collided with the breakwater around 9:35 p.m. that evening.
Officials say that he breakwater was not visible to the officers, due to waves that are estimated to have been 8 feet high at the time.
The Steamship Authority had previously stated that inclement weather, strong winds, and choppy seas played complicating factors in the grounding of the vessel.
The crash remains under investigation by the Coast Guard who have not offered a target date for its completion.
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