The Steamship Authority has settled a legal dispute with a Rhode Island shipyard that was contracted to take the freight ferry Katama into drydock for maintenance work this year.

According to the settlement reached Wednesday and released to the press later in the evening, the SSA will pay Senesco Marine LLC $142,243.98 to terminate a contract for repairs and overhaul of the freight ferry.

The money paid to Senesco will reimburse the shipyard for the cost of any materials, parts or equipment purchased in preparation for the contracted work.

The boat line has released no details on the nature of the dispute or how it arose, but has met multiple times this spring in executive session to discuss possible litigation, including at the start of the board of governor’s meeting Wednesday.

The settlement states that the boat line entered into a contract with Senesco Marine on Feb. 10, 2020 “to perform certain repairs and overhaul services on the M/V Katama,” and that a “dispute arose concerning the contract.”

SSA spokesman Sean Driscoll declined to comment on the nature of the dispute when reached by phone Wednesday evening.

But earlier this spring, the manager of Senesco Marine in Kingston, R.I., released a statement saying the company was “surprised and dismayed” that the boat line had considered litigation regarding the contract and claimed that the SSA had reneged on its terms.

According to the statement from general manager Mike Foster, the contract with the SSA for Katama repairs was finalized in early February. Six weeks later, the SSA asked to delay the project, Mr. Foster said. By that point, Senesco had already purchased materials for the repairs and arranged the dry dock schedule, making a delay untenable for Senesco.

Mr. Foster claimed in the statement that the boat line did not issue progress payments and did not respond to alternatives that Senesco presented in April.

“We fully understand that economic uncertainties triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic are hurting organizations,” the statement said. “Complying with the authority’s requests to change or delay the contract would hurt us in a significant and unacceptable way.”

The SSA faced huge financial losses in April and had cut back its schedule, meaning it did not need its normal fleet of freight and passenger vessels. Mr. Driscoll declined to comment on the Senesco statement.

The boat line met multiple times in executive session over the past two months to discuss the matter, eventually reaching an agreement that was signed on Wednesday.

At the Wednesday meeting, SSA governors expressed satisfaction with the outcome and voted unanimously to approve the settlement, saying the dispute was resolved amicably.

“I am really delighted with the resolve that has come with this,” Barnstable governor Bob Jones said. “And the people involved on both sides of the fence know the right actions to take and took it. So I think we are all better for it and would look forward to dealing with Senesco again if the time came.”

The board also voted unanimously to transfer the repairs contract for the Katama to the next and only eligible bidder, Thames Shipyard out of New London, Conn.

The settlement allows the SSA to send over parts to Thames Shipyard that Senseco had originally purchased for the repairs. It also allows the SSA to renegotiate Thames Shipyard’s original bid price in light of the parts that Senesco had already purchased.

The Katama is currently running on the Nantucket route. Mr. Driscoll said the drydock repairs would occur over the summer.

“I think this is a very good resolution to this situation,” Vineyard governor James Malkin said Wednesday.