Treated vegetable oil for fuel? Cape, Islands ferry service will try for three months

Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority officials have approved a three-month trial of a renewable diesel fuel whose components would be just as at home in a vat to cook french fries.

The fuel, hydrotreated vegetable oil, will be used to power the ferry Island Home from June 1 to Sept. 1.

Steamship Authority Chief Operating Officer Mark Amundsen said using the fuel is “a real game changer” for the agency.

“The use of this fuel should significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by the Authority fleet and will assist meeting the governor’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target by 50%,” Amundsen said.

Hydrotreated vegetable oil is an alternative to conventional diesel fuel used in power generation and main propulsion in the fleet.

It is now available to the Steamship Authority for the first time year-round and will be supplied by GlobalGLO and stored at its terminal in Providence, R.I. The fuel has previously been available only on the West Coast. The Authority will pay $62,400 for the fuel. According to GlobalGLO’s website “renewable diesel uses a wide range of fats, oils, and waste products from the food and restaurant industries to create a fuel that performs as well as petroleum diesel – without the environmental impact.” The fuel can be used in existing diesel engines by itself or blended with petroleum diesel.

Amundsen said the new fuel will have slightly more consumption but that is outweighed by the environmental benefits. The use of the fuel will result in a minimum 50% reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gases emissions up to 78%, according to an analysis by federal Environmental Protection Agency.

 “I’m looking forward to future use on all vessels,” he said.

The decision to try the fuel came during the monthly meeting on Thursday, May 15, of the Authority’s board and Port Council. The group met at the New Bedford Port Authority.

Blue Line reservations extended to year-end

The board and port council also extended an island reservation program to the end of the year.

The boards extended the Blue Line reservations-only program for island residents on the Vineyard route to January 2026 after hearing a report from Alison Fletcher, director of shoreside operations for the Authority.

Fletcher reported the Blue Line was used 997 times from Martha’s Vineyard and 1,113 times from Woods Hole.

She had asked only for a continuation of the program through the summer season until October. During reservation-only days, the Authority provides the Blue Line for island residents who need to undertake unscheduled travel.

The program started in November 2024 as a result of shoreside construction of a new Woods Hole terminal and anticipated transfer bridge replacements at the Vineyard Haven terminal and was continued through the winter schedule on a trial basis.

“The island residents are starting to like it more,” Fletcher said. The reservation system will also be extended to seven days a week until 7 p.m. and a callback option will be added, she said.

Authority Board Chair James Malkin suggested renaming the program because some residents don’t understand it. Fletcher said the staff can look at renaming the program, but that decision will be put off until later.

What is the status of the M/V Monomoy?

The work on refitting the M/V Monomoy, “is making fantastic progress,” General Manager Robert Davis said, and it is scheduled for a stabilization test on Aug. 20. The vessel is one of three sister ships purchased by the Authority for conversion into ferries, alongside the M/V Aquinnah and the M/V Barnstable.

Davis reported that a utility building for the new Woods Hole Terminal construction is 50% completed and is expected to be ready by the end of this year. The terminal should be open a year from now, he said.

Some issues caused by the construction were raised by staff and customers are being addressed, Davis said. They include restriping crosswalks from the ferry to the buses and moving pickup and drop-off areas behind the new building as well as adding Jersey barriers along the adjacent bike path. A golf cart also will be arriving to assist customers, he said.

Malkin asked about coordination for safety around the construction site during the upcoming summer season. Other board members asked for more state police and coordination with the Falmouth police at the site, which will be provided.

Susan Vaughn writes about transportation and other local community issues affecting Cape Cod residents and visitors. She can be reached at smharris@gannett.com.

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