WARWICK — Rhode Island Fast Ferry has been granted an additional year to meet the requirements set forth by the R.I. Public Utilities and Carriers in order for the North Kingstown-based fast ferry operator to run a seasonal fast ferry from Quonset Point to Block Island.
The deadline for Rhode Island Fast Ferry, owned by Charles A. Donadio Jr., was extended to Sept. 22, 2019, three years after the company’s application for an operator’s license was first approved by the DPUC, according to hearing officer John Spirito Jr.’s order issued Wednesday.
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The DPUC requires Rhode Island Fast Ferry to have vessels, satisfy U.S. Coast Guard requirements and having docking facilities at both Quonset Point and Block Island, and other mandates, within one year.
However, the DPUC’s September 2016 decision is currently being appealed in R.I. Superior Court by the town of New Shoreham and Interstate Navigation – the ferry company that operates Block Island Ferry out of Narragansett, Newport and Fall River – as part of a longstanding dispute between the two entities and Rhode Island Fast Ferry, which dates back to 2013.
Among those issues being fought over was docking and, after two remand hearings earlier this year, the DPUC denied New Shoreham’s request to revisit the town’s questions about the proposed docking facility and had the matter returned to Superior Court. New Shoreham argued that Rhode Island Fast Ferry and Bluewater LLC – the company owned by Paul Filippi that was hired to build the docks at Old Harbor – didn’t have a realistic expectation to construct the docks.
As a result of the delays, Spirito found “sufficient cause” to grant Rhode Island Fast Ferry a one-year continuance. In his order, Spirito said Rhode Island Fast Ferry may request additional continuances next year if the matter is not fully resolved by next September.
However, the DPUC’s patience on Bluewater’s efforts to build docking in Old Harbor is “not without limits,” Spirito wrote, and both Bluewater and Rhode Island Fast Ferry are “put on notice that they will be held to a higher burden of proof in support of any further continuance requests.”
In an email Wednesday, Donadio said he anticipates the formal application for docking be filed with the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council “in the next few weeks.” He said the proposed dockage’s design and layout are being finalized, which will “hopefully satisfy” concerns that were brought forth.
“Our goal is to have this new fast ferry service up and running for the 2019 season,” Donadio said.
The R.I. Attorney General Office’s Advocacy Section also favored Rhode Island Fast Ferry seeking the continuance. R.I. Special Assistant Attorney General Christy Hetherington wrote to the DPUC last Friday that the office’s Advocacy Section “supports” implementing Donadio’s service “as quickly as possible in the interest of public need,” citing the DPUC’s acknowledgement that such service is needed.
Donadio also said no hearing dates in Superior Court have been scheduled as of yet.
James Bessette is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Research@PBN.com.
