A new document released by the Steamship Authority (SSA) shows that an employee was disciplined over the handling of the Sankaty’s untethering on July 27.
A timeline provided to the Dukes County Commissioners this week found that the Steamship gave what it deemed the “master” of the Sankaty a two-week, unpaid suspension as the result of an internal investigation. The document further reveals that the master has since retired.
An SSA internal investigation conducted between July 27 and August 3 looking into reasons why the Sankaty became untethered from its Woods Hole slip found that the employee failed to ensure the “safe and efficient operation of the vessel, and [ensure] that it was properly secured upon leaving for the day.”
One week after the internal investigation concluded, the SSA received a “grievance” on behalf of the Sankaty master concerning an unpaid suspension.
On Sept. 28, the same day The Times filed an appeal against the SSA’s decision not to release employee statements and emails related to the internal investigation, the Sankaty’s master retired from the authority.
Since The Times published a story on what it found through a public records request, multiple Steamship Authority representatives stated they were unaware of the additional issues surrounding the Sankaty incident. SSA board member and Falmouth representative Peter Jeffrey has told The Times that he plans to ask his fellow board members to convene in executive session to discuss the possibility of not renewing SSA general manager Robert Davis’ contract, which is currently in year two of three years.
The SSA board is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, Nov. 28.
