Providence Business News first wrote about the Oliver Hazard Perry in January 2009 when BankNewport gave a $25,000 grant to help cover development costs for the creation of a Rhode Island-based “sail-training ship.”
Nearly a decade later, citing financial difficulties, the nonprofit that oversees the Ocean State’s official sailing school vessel “paused” operations. Just to be specific, Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island posted an operating loss of $961,415 in 2016.
From the nonprofit’s Form 990, OHPRI ended 2016 with total liabilities of $3.1 million, $2.9 million of which was comprised of mortgage and personal loans. Program service revenue for 2016 was $116,170, well short of operating expenses of $2.1 million.
In fact, the leaders of OHPRI are not ruling out selling the ship to cover its liabilities, something that might see the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry dock somewhere other than in Rhode Island, which would be a shame, since it honors one of the state’s greatest naval heroes.
Is there anything to be learned from this financial mess?
The state invested $5 million in building a dock for the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, but that seems to be the extent of its commitment. And it does leave a nice piece of infrastructure in place, no matter the disposition of the ship.
But was the business plan for operating the ship ever going to work?
The saga of the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry is a reminder that fiscal and managerial discipline should be exercised always, no matter how feel-good the project may be.
