SeaKits, the developer and provider of the Marine Maintenance System (MMS), has signed an agreement with Boston’s Best Cruises to provide the company’s two workboat fleets with their turnkey MMS Fleet Solutions. SeaKits and Boston’s Best Cruises met at the Passenger Vessel Association meeting in February and began discussions of implementing Fleet Solutions into their Boston and Ft. Lauderdale based fleets. The Boston fleet’s maintenance program will begin operations with MMS by the end of April.
Boston’s Best Cruises operates and maintains passenger vessels for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and the reliability and proper maintenance of the vessels is paramount to customer service and business operations. The Boston’s Best Cruises fleet includes two Boston Harbor Island high speed catamaran ferries that run between Quincy and Boston; two T Harbor Express vessels that are year round commuter boats; the Salem Ferry that has a seasonal schedule; and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch boat.
The second fleet is with a sister company, Ft. Lauderdale Water Taxis, which has seven water taxis in the fleet and also includes the Boston’s Best Cruises seasonal vessels during the winter months. Both Boston’s Best Cruises and Ft. Lauderdale Water Taxis are owned by Water Transportation Alternatives, Inc.
The SeaKits scope of work is to complete a turnkey fleet maintenance management program for all vessels as well as the parts depots at their respective terminals (Boston, Quincy, Salem, and Ft. Lauderdale). In order to ensure a smooth transition, SeaKits is completing a process review of the existing maintenance routines at Boston’s Best Cruises so that MMS can be integrated into their overall maintenance process. SeaKits will perform a walkdown of each vessel, create the equipment and spare parts lists, determine the maintenance requirements and schedules, assemble electronic manufacturers’ documentation, and populate the MMS database for each vessel. Boston’s Best Cruises had been considering different maintenance solutions and the SeaKits customization and comprehensive service is one of the things that attracted president Bill Walker to MMS. For example, SeaKits will build into each vessel’s profile the required USCG inspection schedules.