Pleased with the current direction of the Steamship Authority, the board of governors is looking within its own ranks for a new general manager to succeed Wayne Lamson when he retires this summer.

SSA governors gave a green light this week for a search committee to interview only current employees for the next general manager and set an initial annual salary of $175,000 for the position. If all goes according to plan, the committee will make a public recommendation at the Oct. 18 board meeting on the Vineyard.

“Given the known qualities of potential internal candidates for the position, the committee does not believe there is much to be gained by looking outside the organization,” a six-page report from the general manager search/selection committee said.

The report did not identify the potential candidates.

Praising operational improvements made under Mr. Lamson’s leadership, the report went on to say that “the committee believes that a dramatic change in that course not only is unwarranted, but could also jeopardize the tremendous progress that Mr. Lamson has achieved during his tenure.”

The report was released at the monthly SSA meeting on Nantucket Tuesday.

Mr. Lamson will retire at the end of June 2017 after a 40-plus-year career at the SSA, the last 12 as general manager.

The search committee report hews closely to a succession plan completed by Mr. Lamson in 2011, at the request of the board.

In the plan, Mr. Lamson recommended that the board first consider hiring from within. The report released this week suggests that for the past five years Mr. Lamson has been grooming internal candidates, although no individuals are named. The report also notes also that Mr. Lamson expressly recommended against creating a new position such as assistant to the general manager, for his possible successor.

“Doing so would have created expectations, before a successor is actually selected,” the report says.

The search committee report offers high praise for Mr. Lamson’s leadership, teamwork and managerial expertise developed over a career lifetime in a single organization.

“Without diminishing the abilities and accomplishments of his many predecessors, Mr. Lamson’s 12 years as general manager stand out for the remarkable level of success, effectiveness and positive change that were achieved along with a continuous unprecedented degree of organizational stability,” the report says.

“It is impossible to list all of the keys to Mr. Lamson’s success as a general manager, but his lifetime dedication to the authority, including its employees and all of the communities it serves, is certainly one of them.”

The report also says: “The members recognize that Mr. Lamson has not faced . . . challenges alone, rather he has led a team effort to constantly improve the authority.”

In his 2011 succession plan, summarized in the committee’s report, Mr. Lamson acknowledged that the qualifications necessary for a general manager can change as an organization changes and that outside successors are usually chosen when change is desired.

Employees who want to be considered for the general manager job will have until Oct. 5 to apply. The committee plans to conduct an internal preliminary screening before the Oct. 18 SSA meeting on the Vineyard. At that meeting, final candidate recommendations are expected to be announced publicly.

The general manager search committee was appointed in July, and met twice in August before preparing its report. Committee members are: Vineyard governor Marc Hanover, Falmouth governor Elizabeth Gladfelter, Falmouth port council member Robert Munier (who did not attend either of the meetings), Nantucket port council member Nathaniel Lowell and Tisbury port council member George Balco.