Ferries are running better than ever, but the Steamship Authority needs a management overhaul. That was the message from Vineyard SSA governor Marc Hanover to the Dukes County commission.

The independent review of the Steamship Authority looked at five major areas of SSA operations and found serious deficiencies in four.

The governing board for the boat line agreed Tuesday to hold additional meetings over the winter months to discuss the 140-page independent review.

The Steamship Authority needs to change its management culture or face more potentially dangerous disruptions in service, the leader of a five-month study of boat line operations said Monday.

A independent review of the SSA describes an organization so focused on saving money and reacting to emergencies that it has failed to follow basic business practices.

Steamship Authority governors voiced their strong approval this week for the job Robert Davis has been doing in his first year as general manager.

An outside independent review of Steamship Authority operations is set to begin next week, with staff from a Seattle-based marine consulting firm scheduled to arrive Tuesday for a site visit.

The Steamship Authority will shortly begin contract negotiations with HMS Consulting and Technical Engineers of Seattle, Wash., to undertake a comprehensive review of operations.

In a year that has been marred by a string of problems on the Vineyard route, the boat line expects to hire an outside consultant for a comprehensive review.