Outgoing Steamship Authority board chairman Marc Hanover was honored Tuesday morning at a joint meeting of the board and the port council in Falmouth. After 15 years on the board and two on the port council, Hanover announced in January he would not seek another term. Tuesday’s meeting was his last. The SSA didn’t hesitate to salute Hanover’s years of volunteer service. He was presented with a commemorative armchair carved with the SSA seal, his name, and his years of service.
Barnstable board member Robert Jones enumerated the many milestones the ferry line marked while Hanover was aboard, chief among them the landmark HMS report that Hanover spearheaded.
Hanover told those gathered at the meeting that nothing he accomplished during his tenure was done in a vacuum. He said the dedication of his colleagues to the welfare of the Islands, among other things, was invaluable.
Nantucket board member Robert Ranney joined Jones in thanking Hanover for his service. Ranney described Hanover as a friend who leaves “huge shoes to fill.”
On March 4, the Dukes County Commissioners will choose who fills those shoes. Whomever they appoint out of a field of 10 candidates will automatically be chairman of the SSA board.
In other business, SSA marine operations director Mark Amundsen said extra work was needed on the MV Island Home, which is undergoing repairs at Thames Shipyard in Connecticut. Part of the work already slated is an overhaul of a reduction gear. A borescopic examination at the shipyard revealed another reduction gear on the vessel needed an overhaul. Amundsen requested two change orders totaling $230,000 to make the additional reduction gear repairs. The board voted to approve the request.
General counsel Terence Kenneally informed the board that Woods Hole project general contractor J. Cashman, Inc., was seeking an insurance claim for damages following a minor collision between the MV Gay Head and a construction barge. Kenneally said the insurance appraisals haven’t been delivered yet, so he could not provide a figure.
