Davis to step down as SSA general manager

Updated Sept. 18

Under pressure from Vineyard officials, Robert Davis announced Tuesday that he will be stepping down as the general manager of the Steamship Authority, a position he has served since 2017.

Davis choked up while thanking the Steamship Authority employees, officials, the public, and his family for their support during a Steamship board meeting at the Nantucket Public Safety Facility. “This decision has not been easy for me,“ Davis said on Tuesday. “Serving as the general manager has been the honor of my career.”

The announcement follows several executive sessions regarding Davis’ contract, and comes off a tumultuous summer season when the ferry line was hit with several cancellations due to mechanical issues and crew shortages.

Davis, who has been with the Steamship for close to four decades, said it was the right time to leave. In a statement, he highlighted major projects that the ferry line had undertaken during his tenure, like adding three new freight vessels that are expected to arrive in local waters shortly, and the ongoing reconstruction of the Woods Hole terminal. 

Davis will be stepping away from his role in October 2025 and will be with the ferry line in an advisory role during the transition. 

While no vote was made during the public session, Barnstable representative and board chair Robert Jones thanked Davis for his decades of dedication to the ferry service, choking up as he expressed his appreciation. 

Robert Munier, Port Council chair and Falmouth representative, also thanked Davis for his work with the ferry line through Zoom. 

Davis first joined the Steamship Authority as an auditor in 1986. He would rise through the ranks and become the treasurer/comptroller in 2005. He later succeeded to the spot of former general manager Wayne Lamson in 2017.

Davis’ tenure as the ferry line’s leader has been heavily criticized by Vineyarders and has received the ire of local officials. Most recently, the Dukes County Commissioners, who are the appointing body for Martha’s Vineyard’s representative to the Steamship board, launched a pressure campaign against Davis and called for new leadership at the ferry line’s helm. 

On Tuesday, Christine Todd ripped in half the statement she had prepared to make calling for Davis to step down after hearing his announcement. She thanked Davis for the years of sticking with the Steamship Authority through difficult times, which she said did not go “unnoted or underappreciated.”

“I also want to thank you for the clarity and the courage that you are showing today in taking the position of being willing to step aside and let someone else take the reins over and move forward and have this organization be the best that it can possibly be,” she said.

Steamship officials — mainly from Falmouth and the Vineyard — have been critical of the management of the ferry line. While Nantucket, Barnstable, and New Bedford representatives gave Davis high marks during their review of the general manager last year, Vineyard representative Jim Malkin and Falmouth representative Peter Jeffrey each gave the general manager extremely low ratings. No one gave Davis a failing grade on the Steamship’s Port Council, but the results weren’t very favorable either. Neither boards have given a review this year, although the Port Council had it on their agenda earlier this summer, but it was removed before the meeting.

A major grievance was the crew shortages that have canceled multiple trips this summer, including sixteen ferry cancellations in a single weekend last month.

Still, Malkin had kind words for the general manager following the announcement. “I think Bob has done a solid job with a lot of hard work over the many years he’s worked for the Steamship Authority, and I wish him the best moving forward,” Malkin told The Times. “As the Steamship Authority grows, meets the demands of its traveling public, I look forward to finding the best possible general manager from a global search to take the Steamship Authority forward with new technology, with new business practices, and new communications.” 

During a short call with members of the press, Davis again expressed how proud he was of the people he worked with. He also said that being general manager had been challenging, but he was proud of the work they’ve been able to accomplish.

Davis said in the little over a year remaining he has as general manager, he plans to see through the completion of the Woods Hole terminal construction and incorporating three new freight vessels into service, projects he was a part of from the start. “I didn’t want to place that on someone else’s lap,” Davis said. 

The Steamship Authority stated in a press release that the search for Davis’ successor is “expected to begin immediately.” 

Island state officials — State Senator Julian Cyr and State Representative Dylan Fernandes, and State Representative Candidate Thomas Moakley — issued a joint statement on Wednesday regarding Davis’ decision to step down as general manager.

“We wish Bob Davis well as he transitions from general manager to an advisor role at the Steamship Authority,” the statement reads. “The next step for the Steamship Authority is to pursue a robust national hiring search for the next general manager. Recent challenges at the Steamship Authority must be rectified — from frequent trip cancellations to frustrating reservation system glitches to staffing problems and unmet community concerns. We hope this transition serves as an opportunity for the ‘lifeline to the islands’ to emerge stronger in the months and years to come.”