Construction of new EBDG-designed ferry for SSA underway at Conrad Shipyard
The contract for construction of a new freight and passenger ferry designed by Alaska based naval architecture and marine engineering firm Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) was awarded to Conrad Shipyard in Morgan City, Louisiana. The vessel will be built for the Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket Steamship Authority (SSA), EBDG said in a press release.
The new ferry, WOODS HOLE, will replace the M/V GOVERNOR, the oldest vessel in the SSA's fleet. The new single-ended vessel will measure approximately 235 feet, have a total person capacity of 384 and a car deck that accommodates 55 standard vehicles or 10 tractor-trailer vehicles. The ferry will include a bow thruster and have a service speed of 14.5 knots.
The WOODS HOLE will provide service between the Massachusetts mainland, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Construction of the vessel is expected to be complete in spring of 2016. EBDG previously designed the 255' ISLAND HOME for the Steamship Authority, an entity established by the Massachusetts state legislature to provide reliable transportation for residents to and from the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.
The WOODS HOLE project is the latest vessel to be built by Conrad Shipyard to one of EBDGs designs. The shipbuilder, which has a long-established presence in the Gulf Coast region going back to the 1940s, also built the passenger ferries SWAN QUARTER and SEA LEVEL, both designed by EBDG for the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Elliott Bay Design Group LLC (EBDG) is an employee-owned company with offices in Seattle, New Orleans and Ketchikan, Alaska that provides naval architecture, marine engineering and production support services to owners, operators and shipyards across the country. With a focus on responsiveness, EBDG delivers designs that are better to build and better to operate.
Conrad Shipyard, established in 1948 and headquartered in Morgan City, Louisiana, designs, builds and overhauls tugboats, ferries, lift boats, barges, offshore supply vessels and other steel and aluminum products for both the commercial and government markets. The company provides both repair and new construction services at its four shipyards located in southern Louisiana and Texas.
The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority was created in 1960 by the Massachusetts legislature to provide for “adequate transportation of persons and necessaries of life for the Islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.” Today the Steamship Authority provides the only ferry service for Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket that carries both passengers and vehicles.
