The Steamship Authority has hired from within to fill one of its most critical vacancies. Mark Rozum, a 23-year boat line veteran, takes over as treasurer-comptroller July 1.

Mr. Rozum, who began his career in the boat line’s accounting and finance office and has most recently held the job of operations manager, replaces Gerard Murphy, who resigned in December.

The SSA engaged the KLH Executive Search Group to seek external candidates for the job, general manager Robert Davis told the board of governors at their regular monthly meeting Tuesday in Hyannis.

KLR identified about 600 potential candidates, of whom about 80 responded to the posting, Mr. Davis said.

After reviewing the applications, KLR winnowed this group down to six external applicants and three SSA employees, all of whom were interviewed first by KLR before the leading candidates were interviewed by Mr. Davis, boat line general counsel Terrence Kenneally and recently-hired director of human resources Janice Kennefick.

“As a result of this process, Mr. Mark Rozum emerged as the unanimous choice for the position,” Mr. Davis said.

After joining the SSA accounting and finance department in 1996, Mr. Rozum worked as reservation manager, internal audit manager, transition director of terminals and parking and then operations manager, Mr. Davis said.

The vacancy he leaves in operations may turn into a different position now that the boat line also has a director of marine operations, Mark Amundsen, Mr. Davis said.

“We may be looking for different skill sets,” for a manager of terminals, parking and reservations, he said.

In other business Tuesday, the board approved a change to the boat line’s policy for accepting advertisements in its terminals and buses, brochures and schedules and on its video displays and website.

The SSA already declines advertising for alcohol and tobacco products and for competing boat lines. The policy update adds marijuana and marijuana-related products, which fell under its unlawful goods and services exclusion before legalization, as well as e-cigarettes and vaping devices.

The board agreed to charge half fares for food bank trucks to make their mainland runs, as long as the operating agencies are authorized by Dukes County or one of the Island towns.

Once authorized, the agencies will be covered by the SSA’s town and county travel voucher program, which extends half-price fares for municipal business travel, Mr. Davis said.

Bill Cloutier, project manager for the Woods Hole terminal reconstruction, displayed the latest slides of work on the waterfront, where the new third slip is ready for use.

The new slip is three feet taller than the one next to it, but that slip will eventually be raised even higher, Mr. Cloutier said, to accommodate ferries with greater freeboard (the height between the waterline and the deck).

The southernmost slip will be the lowest of the three and will mostly be used by freight boats, Mr. Cloutier said.

Governors approved a 3.1 per cent total overall wage increase for the Steamship Authority’s approximately 90 employees who are not represented by a union. If granted after annual performance evaluations, wage and salary increases for these workers are effective July 1.

They also approved late winter and early spring schedules for the Vineyard run, from Jan. 4 to March 15, that differ from this year’s only in that from Feb. 24 to March 15, the ferry Woods Hole will be taking the place of the Island Home while the latter undergoes scheduled maintenance at the boat line’s Fairhaven repair facility.

Mr. Davis presented a business report for April that showed both higher revenue and a lower operating loss than projected, with most boats running as scheduled.

“On the Vineyard route, zero trips were canceled for mechanical [reasons], four for weather,” he said.

“A little different from what we were going through last year,” observed Vineyard governor Marc Hanover.

“Amen,” said Barnstable governor Robert Jones.