SS ''Martha's Vineyard'' was a ferry that operated in New England for much of the 20th century. She was constructed by

Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics. It is the fifth-largest de ...

for the New England Steamship Company (since consolidated into the Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority) as the ''Islander''.Morris, page 131 She was launched on July 23, 1923, and began service to

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

Island on August 7. In 1928, she received the name ''Martha's Vineyard''.Morris, page 143 She operated in regular service for the New England Steamship Company and its successors until October 1956, and she left the company's fleet in 1959. She was purchased by the Rhode Island Steamship Lines and was repowered with new diesel engines before operating seasonally on various routes in Massachusetts, including again to Nantucket from Hyannis under the auspices of Nantucket Express Lines.Morris, page 205 In 1968, ''Martha's Vineyard'' was sold to the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company who converted her to diesel-electric and operated her until late 1985 while her replacement, the MV Park City, was under construction. She was subsequently sold to the Massachusetts Bay Lines, which intended to convert her to a dinner cruise ship. However, the company did not fulfill the plans, and ''Martha's Vineyard'' was stored in Boston until 1990 when she sank at her dock and was scrapped.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Martha's Vineyard Ferries of Massachusetts 1923 ships Ships built in Bath, Maine