WARWICK – The R.I. Division of Public Utilities and Carriers will hold a public hearing Thursday at 10 a.m. at its office, 89 Jefferson Blvd., to hear Interstate Navigation Co.’s request to allow the company to finance the construction of a new fast ferry.
According to documents filed at the DPUC, Interstate Navigation, which operates the Block Island Ferry out of Narragansett, Newport and Fall River to the island, is planning to build a $10.5 million, 500-passenger fast ferry to sail from Point Judith in Narragansett to Old Harbor on Block Island. David G. Bebyn, president of Providence-based B&E Consulting LLC, stated in his pre-filed testimony that Interstate Navigation plans to borrow $8.5 million from The Washington Trust Co. to help build the new vessel.
Rhode Island FC To Offer Local Businesses Top-Notch Networking Opportunities in 2025
The perfect atmosphere for entertaining clients or hosting employees, The Stadium at Tidewater Landing will…
Learn More
The ferry will be constructed by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding of Somerset and replace the current 250-passenger Athena vessel sailing out of Narragansett, Bebyn said.
Bebyn estimates the new ferry will carry an additional 21,885 passengers annually and it would “be a benefit” to the traditional ferry services, as the fast-ferry service “provides a financial subsidy to the traditional service,” which helps hold down rates on the traditional year-round lifeline service. Bebyn also said the current fast-ferry service from Narragansett had sold out several times during the summer.
The Athena is planned to be repurposed for ferry runs from Newport, Bebyn said, and the Islander – the current vessel running from Newport – is projected to serve as a “standby vessel” and be available for chartering. When asked if Interstate will require a rate increase on its services to pay the debt service, Bebyn answered: “I do not believe so.”
Bebyn said Interstate Navigation is requesting the DPUC to give its approval by Friday because the construction contract must be signed by Monday in order for the vessel to be completed by Memorial Day 2020, or the project will cost more to build. Additionally, the loan for the project must close by Friday, with “time of the essence,” Babyn said.
This request from Interstate Navigation to build a new ferry also comes with the Connecticut-based ferry company and the town of New Shoreham still mired in a long-standing legal dispute with North Kingstown-based Rhode Island Fast Ferry, led by president Charles A. Donadio Jr., over Donadio’s proposed seasonal fast-ferry service to Block Island from Quonset Point. The battle began in 2013 when Donadio first applied to the DPUC to operate a fast ferry from North Kingstown to Block Island, which Donadio received approval from the DPUC in September 2016 – a ruling that both Interstate Navigation and New Shoreham are appealing in R.I. Superior Court.
Among the fronts Interstate Navigation and New Shoreham officials have challenged against Donadio’s proposed service during the five-plus-year fight, are the loss of passengers and revenue for Interstate Navigation, possible rate increases for service, over-saturating the island with people and causing a public safety hazard at Old Harbor – where Donadio plans to build new docking for Rhode Island Fast Ferry’s service and where Interstate Navigation plans to sail its new ferry.
Earlier this year, two remand hearings – one in March and the other in April – were held at the DPUC, in which New Shoreham officials asked the division to revisit docking questions over Donadio’s proposed facility at Old Harbor, which is planned to be built by Bluewater LLC, claiming there was no realistic possibility Donadio could build docking at Old Harbor. However, the DPUC found “insufficient cause” to revisit those plans, returning the dispute back to Superior Court. Donadio also received in September a one-year extension on the deadline to fulfill the DPUC’s requirements, such as having vessels and satisfying U.S. Coast Guard requirements, among others, in order to run his proposed ferry to Block Island.
In an email Wednesday, Donadio said Interstate Navigation’s request for it to finance a new ferry is “a complete reversal” to its argument it routinely made against Rhode Island Fast Ferry’s proposal.
“[Interstate Navigation] said there was no need for additional ferry service and that their current fleet of ferries serviced the market just fine and did not turn people away,” Donadio said.
Donadio confirmed he plans to make a statement at Thursday’s hearing about Interstate Navigation’s proposal. He also feels the commission at the DPUC “needs to take a step back,” take “appropriate time” to look deeper into Interstate Navigation’s proposal and “not be forced by these timelines.”
James Bessette is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Research@PBN.com.
