Select board chair Gail Barmakian invited Robert Davis to the board’s Tuesday meeting after Oak Bluffs wasn’t notified about the potential of 41 North Offshore using the Steamship’s Oak Bluffs terminal to ship freight and heavy equipment to and from New Bedford.

The rocky start to summer is emblematic of the Steamship Authority’s staffing woes, several Steamship employees said, and on any given day ferries can be one sick-day away from being tied up at the docks.

The Steamship Authority Tuesday said it is dropping the Sankaty's three daily weekday round trips on the Vineyard route amid a shortage of qualified crew members.

An industry-wide shortage of maritime workers is hampering the Steamship Authority’s ability to recruit enough crew members for the upcoming season. 

Steamship workers discovered Friday that the Eagle ferry’s bow thruster was leaking gear lubricant, forcing the boat to go to the shipyard for repairs.

At the ferry line’s board of governors meeting Tuesday, Steamship staff said they were increasing the number of employees who can green light cancellations, expanding the call center hours and making other attempts to improve communication with customers about the status of ferries.

The Steamship Authority's port council Tuesday heard reports on the slip work, as well as the progress on the ferry line's new freight boats.

Only a small list of outstanding items, including load testing and making sure reservations can be canceled and changed, are left to straighten out before the Steamship Authority launches its new website. 

Steamship general manager Robert Davis went to Washington, D.C. to talk to lawmakers about the proposed right whale protective measures as conservation groups call for a hard implementation deadline.