The Island entered a new age at the ferry line as the Steamship Authority (SSA) bid farewell to Jim Malkin, the Vineyard’s two-term representative on the ferry board.
The SSA board meeting in Falmouth on Tuesday was both a welcome and a goodbye for the Vineyard. This was the first appearance for Ted Gavin at a board gathering; he was appointed as the Vineyard’s Steamship representative by the Dukes County Commissioners earlier this month. The session was also a time reserved for port community members to recognize Malkin’s six years as the Island’s representative.
Malkin thanked board and Port Council members for their “completely unexpected” but kind words. He expressed his appreciation for the people who work at the ferry line, from the community representatives to the employees who make sure the boats sail every day.
“I think the Steamship Authority provides, based on all of the research I’ve done, the most reliable service of any ferry system in this country,” he said. “I look forward to it getting better. There are things that need to get better, but we have a strong group of people who are working hard to make it better, and I wish the Steamship Authority, its board, and staff much luck going forward, and great success.”
Malkin was first appointed to the board in 2020, entering the position just as the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world. In the past six years, he served as chair of the board twice. While Malkin initially considered a third term on the board, he withdrew his candidacy in December.
Joe Sollitto, Oak Bluffs Port Council member, highlighted that Malkin used a “strategy of engagement over confrontation” to achieve results.
“Your leadership focused on important priorities: hiring a new general manager, hiring a first COO, implementing a modern reservation system, overseeing IT improvements, all while guiding the Steamship Authority through the pandemic recovery and operating challenges,” Sollitto said.
He said that he and John Cahill, Tisbury Port Council member, also followed in Malkin’s lead of declining free ferry rides for themselves and their spouses, a perk of SSA board reps and port councilors, to “avoid any potential conflict and undue influence.”
Cahill remarked on Malkin’s “integrity, his intelligence, and his kindness, which is a combination that he used to help navigate what needed to be done, the challenges here at the Steamship.”
Several representatives also highlighted the mentorship they received from Malkin.
“He’s been a great contributor to the board, a mentor to me as well as a friend,” Peter Jeffrey, Falmouth board representative, said.
As the SSA enters new waters, including an ongoing revamp of the reservation system and potential changes to the fleet, Gavin said Malkin had been “incredibly helpful” in helping him determine whether it was the right decision to apply to be the next board member.
“To say that his time here was consequential is a vast understatement,” Gavin said, noting that the work Malkin helped with likely won’t be calculable until years down the line. Gavin added that while he will “never be able to succeed Jim Malkin,” he’ll endeavor to follow his predecessor’s example.
Alex Kryska, who became the new SSA general manager in December, highlighted that he wished there had been more of an opportunity to work with Malkin, but the new head of the ferry line was looking toward the future.
“I look forward to working with Ted going forward, and excited … to see where the board goes from here,” Kryska said. “I think Jim laid a great foundation for us.”
Meanwhile, the SSA delayed deciding on whether to sell the Governor, the oldest vessel in the ferry line’s fleet. The possibility of selling the freight ferry was raised during a Port Council meeting earlier this month, but Kryska said during the board meeting on Tuesday that instead the authority will be returning to the Port Council next month with an analysis of selling or keeping the Governor. The review will also include two other aging vessels: the Sankaty, another freight ferry under consideration to be sold that first joined the SSA in 1994, and the Nantucket, a 52-year-old passenger ferry that first arrived in Woods Hole in 1974.