Less than six months after voting to end paid advertising aboard its ferries, the Steamship Authority board of governors rescinded the decision during a joint meeting with the SSA port council Monday afternoon.

James Malkin, who represents the Vineyard on the governing board, pressed for a ban on ads last summer amid the controversial “Did Your Lobster Kill a Whale?” campaign by Virginia-based nonprofit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

The board voted in mid-July to end the advertising policy, once current contracts expired.

This week, Mr. Malkin reversed his stance, citing discussions with Island newspapers, the Vineyard Transit Authority and other local advertisers.

“[They] rely on placing information on our vessels, that serve the public traveling to and from the Islands, about things that are available to the people who come and go,” he said.

Mr. Malkin asked Steamship Authority management to flag advertising that appears controversial or may be against the interests of the Islands and port communities, so that the board of governors may review the content.

General counsel Terence Kenneally welcomed the reversal, noting that the advertising policy outlines Steamship Authority standards for acceptable content.

“Each advertisement that comes in needs to be reviewed against the policy as it’s written, and I think it’s fairly comprehensive,” he told the port council and board.

“To restore it would be great for the Island communities who have reached out to us,” Mr. Kenneally said.

Port council members unanimously approved the restoration; on the board of governors, only New Bedford member Maura Tierney voted against restoring the advertising policy.

Advertising aboard vessels brings in about $100,000 annually, according to Steamship staff, who previously advised against the ban.

Meeting in Hyannis after a luncheon celebrating the new freight ferry M/V Barnstable, the board and port council heard an update on sister ships Aquinnah and Monomoy. The two boats are currently being retrofitted after previous lives as offshore oil vessels.

“The Aquinnah is progressing very rapidly now,” engineering and maintenance director Mark Amundsen said.

The ferry’s mechanical and stability tests are coming up over the next few weeks at Alabama Shipyard in Mobile, where the Aquinnah now is docked after more than a year of conversion work.

“Then we’re going to be scheduling the sea trials and start planning for the vessel departure coming up to New England,” Mr. Amundsen said, estimating a February departure.

Also at Alabama Shipyard, the Monomoy is out of the water and being prepared for the same major surgery her sisters have already received: the removal of the boat’s original midsection, to be replaced by a new midbody as part of the upgrade from oil field vessel to freight and passenger ferry.

Sea trials for the Monomoy are expected to begin in June, Mr. Amundsen said.

Mr. Malkin asked about the potential purchase of a fourth identical ship from the same seller, Hornbeck Offshore Services in Louisiana.

“Would you … get a sense of what would be required to make a significant, satisfactory offer to acquire that?” he asked general manager Robert Davis, who cautioned that it might take some time to calculate the answer.

“Not only the vessel acquisition, but we’d have to also be looking at the conversion costs and getting an uptick there before we … bring something back to the board and port council as a recommendation,” Mr. Davis said.

Also Monday, the port council and board approved license renewals for a bevy of transportation companies that work with the Steamship Authority, including the Peter Ban and Plymouth and Brockton bus lines and companies operating the seasonal Hy-Line, Island Queen and Pied Piper-Sandpiper passenger ferries.

The Pied Piper service between Falmouth and Edgartown changed hands in September and now is owned by Acme Falmouth Ferry LLC, which also purchased a marina and two restaurant properties in Vineyard Haven this year.

Manager Jay Kehoe, who has worked for the Falmouth ferry service for more than two years, said the new owners are keeping the staff and crew intact.