Nantucket

A man was rescued from the water off Woods Hole on the afternoon of Oct 13, 2025, after he fell from the 'Nantucket', which was enroute from the Vineyard to the mainland. It was unclear how he ended up in the water. The crew of the ferry 'Island Home', which was was sauling from Woods Hole to Vineyard Haven, lerted the Coast Guard of a man in the water at 3:19 pm. The crew was first notified of the man in the water by a passenger. This led the crew to begin a rescue protocol, readying the rescue boat and life preserver rings and searching for the man. A helicopter crew of the Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New Englandlocated the man, who was hoisted aboard after a rescue swimmer retrieved him. He was later transferred to the Falmouth Hospital for evaluation. The victim’s condition was not considered life-threatening. The Falmouth Police, firefighters, EMS, and marine officers were on scene at the Woods Hole Steamship terminal. They left at 4:47 p.m. Report with photos: https://www.mvtimes.com/2025/10/13/coast-guard-searching-person-overboard-woods-hole/

The 'Nantucket' was in allision with a concrete piling at the Steamship Authority’s Oak Bluffs terminal at Marthas Vineyard on Oct 2, 2023, and had to be taken out of service for inspections. The vessel was making a trip to the Oak Bluffs terminal in the afternoon when, due to tide and wind conditions, the ship's stern swung out of position and allided with the piling. No injuries were reported among the 121 passengers, and the vessel was able to offload them and 44 vehicles. There was no damage to the dock, and following inspection by the vessel’s crew, a minor damage was found on the ferry's protective rub railing. But with permission from the Coast Guard, the vessel returned to Woods Hole with another load of 45 vehicles and 364 passengers on board, where it was later repaired. The remainder of the vessel’s scheduled trips were canceled for the evening. The service was expected to resume in the morning of Oct 3, after the U.S. Coast Guard approved a rewelded seam that was damaged as a result of the collision.

The 'Nantucket', en route to Vineyard Haven on Nov 7, suffered a rudder failure at noon and was taken out of service for troubleshooting. The 'Gay Head' was inserted as a replacement ferry. Repairs were completed in the evening of Nov 7, and the vessel returned to service on Nov 8.