A change is coming to the leadership of the Steamship Authority.
Robert Davis will step down in October of 2025 as the general manager of the boat line that has suffered through staff shortages that caused some service cancellations this summer.
Davis announced his decision Sept. 17 following an executive session of the Steamship Authority board.
Later in the day, Davis told CAI that with his contract due to expire in a year, the time is right for him to move on.
“After thinking about it and the time commitments I've been making and impacting family and everything else, there was going to be a time I was going to be needing to step aside anyway. So I worked it out with the board and I appreciate their patience and understanding,” Davis said.
Recently, the Dukes County Commissioners, who appoint the island’s representative to the SSA board, have been calling for a change in leadership. Their prime concern is that crew shortages forced the cancellation of some trips during the hectic summer season.
Davis said he has some big projects to attend to during his final year on the job.
“With the new-to-us vessels coming online I want to be able to see that process through. With the approaching completion of the Woods Hole terminal project as well in a little over a year, those were big items and since I've been involved since the beginning, I didn't want to lay that in someone else's lap,” he said.
The Steamship Authority will soon take delivery of two former offshore supply vessels, to be called the M/V Barnstable and M/V Aquinnah, it purchased second-hand. They will replace the M/V Gay Head and the M/V Katama.
Davis joined the Steamship Authority as an auditor in 1986 and rose through the ranks, becoming general manager in 2017.
