The Steamship Authority is backpedaling on its decision to nix advertisements aboard its vessels, restoring a source of around $100,000 in annual revenue for the ferry line.
During the joint meeting of the Steamship Authority board and the Port Council on Monday afternoon, ferry officials voted to rescind their July decision to stop accepting new ads until an updated advertisement policy could be created.
The board voted 4-1 for the rescission, and the Port Council unanimously voted in favor of it.
The decision was prompted after the Steamship Authority received pushback from businesses in the Island communities that make use of the advertising space.
“I have been in discussion with the number of the newspapers on both Islands as well as services such as the Vineyard Transit Authority who rely on placing information on our vessels that serve the public traveling to and from the Islands about things that are available to the people who come and go,” said Jim Malkin, the board’s Martha’s Vineyard representative. He moved to restore the Steamship Authority’s advertising policy.
Malkin also asked the ferry line staff to monitor advertisements submitted to them. That way if an advertisement appeared “to be controversial or potentially not in the interest of the Islands,” the content might be reviewed by the board. Peter Jeffrey, the board’s Falmouth representative, asked the monitoring of advertisements be extended to consider topics controversial to the port communities as well.
The board was prompted to ban advertisements this summer after the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also known as PETA, paid for advertisements on the Steamship Authority ferry Martha’s Vineyard that riled up some Vineyarders. The posters encouraged readers to avoid eating lobster and to practice veganism, and raised awareness over the plight of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale by taking aim at the lobster industry.
Robert Jones, the board’s Hyannis representative, asked whether there were any additional measures needed to strengthen the advertising policy.
“I think we’re all in agreement, we just don’t want one side against the other using our ships as a battleground,” he said.
“Each advertisement that comes in needs to be … reviewed against the policy as it’s written,” Terence G. Kenneally, the Steamship Authority’s general counsel, said. “I think it’s fairly comprehensive, and I think it’s good. It’s based upon several of the … main transportation authorities in the commonwealth.”
After further discussion, the board cast its vote. Moira Tierney, the board’s New Bedford representative, was the sole dissenting vote on Monday.
