Everyone who lives on the Island knows that the tidal shifts, particularly during a storm, can often be treacherous. The new Steamship Authority general manager should be studying this phenomenon as he steps into his new role amid a rising tide of complaints and a torrent of past failures. He is indeed in treacherous waters as he navigates a sea new to him at the wheelhouse of the ferry system.
The Steamship Authority is our lifeline, and one of the most important entities for Islanders. The ferries transport the trucks carrying the food we buy at the grocery stores, and our prescription medicine at the local pharmacies, take the school buses and the high school students to off-Island showdowns, and allow us to travel to the mainland and back home. And last week, amid changing tides at the ferry line, new General Manager Alex Kryska made his first public appearance at the helm of the organization.
But Kryska’s first appearance with the Steamship Authority board was far from a welcoming ceremony. On top of the ongoing business of the ferry line, he inherited huge tasks from his predecessor, former General Manager Bob Davis, who is still with the organization as a temporary senior advisor to the board.
At the meeting, Kryska shared strategies to address the issues outlined in a report by the state Office of the Inspector General that was released last month, which highlighted the ferry line’s now-shelved website project as a “cascade of failures” that was “ill-conceived, poorly executed,” and wasted between $2 million and $4 million. Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro said that the website shouldn’t have been pursued without a fixed reservation system in place, a part of the ferry operation that Islanders had long complained about. The report also questioned whether Davis should even be retained as a senior advisor, although Jim Malkin, Martha’s Vineyard representative on the Steamship board, assured that Davis would have no authority over ferry-line operations, and would only take on special projects as assigned by the board.
Addressing the report also comes as the Steamship Authority undertakes development of a new reservation system, this time with an existing product from software firm E-Dea rather than trying to build one from the ground up. It’s also planned to have a new website. Although the ferry line’s timeline is looking at a phased rollout of the system in fall 2026 and winter 2027, there are still a variety of aspects to consider, like Vineyarders’ resistance to potential changes for the waitlist and standby lines.
On top of these major undertakings, Kryska will soon have to develop a relationship with a new representative from the Vineyard. The Island’s Steamship representative, Jim Malkin, withdrew his name from candidacy in December, and 14 applicants are aiming to take the empty seat after his second term ends.
Kryska was selected over Mark Amundsen, Steamship chief operating officer and a finalist for general manager, in November. The decision followed a strenuous search process, but one of the reasons provided for the decision was an opportunity for the ferry line to move forward from its current route and make a culture change.
Kryska comes with maritime leadership. His previous role before the Steamship Authority was as chief operating officer of San Francisco–based ferry operation PROP. He also has executive experience in different sectors in California, like being general manager of a cloud-based ticketing and membership platform, and directing Covenant Aviation Security’s operations and business services at San Francisco International Airport.
We welcome Kryska as the new general manager of the Steamship Authority, and hope his past experiences will help bring innovative and needed changes to the ferry line. He’s so far shown initiative, like making the plan to address the inspector general’s report. He also looks ready to hear from the community, showing up in Tisbury at the listening session about the reservation-system revamp project.
Of course, it won’t be an easy feat. He enters partway into projects that will create major changes to how the ferry line operates. He also needs to balance the needs and interests of not just Martha’s Vineyard but also Falmouth, Nantucket, Barnstable, and New Bedford.
At his November interview, Kryska said it would take some time to learn the ropes of the ferry line and instill confidence in himself among the employees. In the long run, he said, he wanted to focus on maintenance issues, staff attrition, and the replacement of aging vessels. But he also highlighted that even if he disagrees with someone in the community, he’s someone who’s willing to meet them and hear their perspective.
As he moves forward in his role, we’d also like to remind Kryska how much the Vineyard relies on the ferry line compared with the other communities. Barnstable, Falmouth, and New Bedford are all on the mainland, and have land-based access to other parts of the country. Nantucket is farther out in the ocean, and has fewer ferry rides than the Vineyard. We who live on the Vineyard, and those who commute over for work, utilize it closer to how the Cape may utilize the Bourne and Sagamore bridges: a ready access route to get to medical appointments, get to work, and go to family functions across the water.
Let us not forget that the SSA’s enabling legislation considered the SSA as an extension of the state highway system. Once, the SSA motto was that it was “the lifeline to the islands”, but now the masthead on the website reads “serving the islands and you”.
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