The long-awaited successor to the Steamship Authority’s aging vehicle reservations system will be a digital platform from E-Dea, a company in Naples, Italy providing software for ferries, cruise ships and ports.

The Steamship board of governors voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize a $5.7 million contract with E-Dea to replace the authority’s current reservations software, which dates from the 1990s and remains the property of its developer.

“Currently, their software handles 49 million passengers per year and 18 million vehicles,” Steamship treasurer/comptroller Mark Rozum told the board.

The existing system crashed when opening for summer reservations in 2018, 2020 and 2023, infuriating motorists who rose early to make the sought-after bookings. Technical difficulties also delayed the summer reservation opening in 2024, although this year’s opening went smoothly.

Tuesday’s vote caps a two-year process in which Steamship Authority information technology staff worked with software consultant Thomas Innis, first to develop the project description and request for proposals and then to evaluate the bids.

Out of 26 companies that initially expressed interest, nine submitted bids for the work and four were chosen as finalists by an evaluation group including Mr. Rozum, chief operating officer Mark Amundsen, director of shoreside operations Alison Fletcher, director of information technology Stephen Colman and other staff members.

“There were approximately 750 specific requirements that were used to support the evaluation, as well as … demonstrations and references,” Mr. Rozum said.

E-Dea’s proposal, which fell in the middle of the cost range among the four finalists, offered the best value for a reservations system that can accommodate a variety of different fare types for vehicles and freight, he said.

Ferry lines that run on E-Dea software include BC Ferries in British Columbia, Color Line in Norway and Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) in Scotland, Mr. Rozum told the board.

CalMac, which serves 22 Scottish islands from more than 50 ports, is larger than the Steamship Authority but provides a similar mix of services, he said.

“All the freight goes to the islands, [and] they have islander programs [for] people trying to get off, to go to their appointments,” Mr. Rozum said.

The authority aims to begin rolling out the E-Dea software next spring, starting with the passenger-only Nantucket fast ferry Iyanough, he said.

“That’s not as complicated a transaction: A person is in the seat or isn’t in the seat, as compared to the variables with the vehicles and the freight,” Mr. Rozum said. “If there’s any tweaks or training, we have a smaller sample set to make any adjustments before we go … to the vehicles.”

Reservations for foot passengers are not required for the rest of the Steamship Authority fleet.

The boat line will begin using E-Dea to book bulk freight reservations over the summer of 2026 and add passenger vehicle reservations in October, completing the transition by the end of next year, Mr. Rozum said.

Among other business at Tuesday’s meeting, held on Nantucket, the board of governors ratified a new agreement with its unionized workers and a cost of living increase for non-unionized employees apart from Mr. Davis, who has yet to have his annual job evaluation performed by the board.

The board also heard a request from Offshore Tug and Transportation, a division of Robert B. Our Company of Harwich, for a license to haul recycling and construction debris from Nantucket to New Bedford.

The company is the new owner of former Steamship Authority freight boats Gay Head and Katama, now renamed Tom Nevers and Tuckernuck, which it proposes to dock at the authority’s Nantucket slip for loading.

“We proposed three different time frames that we thought would fit in with the Steamship’s active schedule, to operate two to three days a week,” said Abby Rose, representing Offshore Tug and Transportation.

The company had initially applied to serve the Vineyard as well, but decided to start with Nantucket first, Ms. Rose said.

“We made the decision to focus on one island, kind of get our feet under us, if you will, before we re-approach the Martha’s Vineyard route,” she said.

The proposal remains under evaluation by the Steamship Authority, whose general counsel Terence Kenneally said he and Mr. Davis planned to meet with Nantucket’s public works department to discuss the island’s need for additional waste hauling services.

The board also approved a memorandum of understanding with the Falmouth Fire Department that spells out how firefighters and Steamship Authority crews and staff will respond to fires on boat line property. Director of security Todd Falvey said the boat line is working on similar agreements with fire departments in other port towns, including Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven.