The Steamship Authority is parting ways with its chief operating officer following his resignation, which was announced Friday.

Mark Higgins was hired in early 2023 as its chief operating officer, a new position recommended by consultants but initially resisted by SSA general manager Robert Davis. 

In a statement to the Gazette, Vineyard Steamship Governor James Malkin confirmed that Mr. Higgins had resigned.

“Mark Higgins received a job offer near his home in Maine and was unwilling to remain with the SSA as it goes through a careful professional search for a general manager to follow Bob Davis,” Mr. Malkin wrote.

Mr. Higgins will remain on the job until early December, Steamship Authority communications director Sean Driscoll told the Gazette Friday afternoon.

The chief operating officer position was among the top recommendations from the consulting team that spent much of 2018 studying every aspect of Steamship Authority operations. Mr. Higgins’s resignation comes at a time of mounting criticism aimed at the boat line.

General manager Bob Davis, who announced in September that he would step down in October 2025 to take an advisory role, issued a statement thanking Mr. Higgins.

“On behalf of the entire organization, I want to thank Mark Higgins for his service to the Steamship Authority and wish him well in his future endeavors,” Mr. Davis wrote in a two-sentence statement issued Friday afternoon. “I plan to discuss the vacancy with the Board and work with the Members to determine a timeline for next steps regarding the position.”

Updated to clarify that Mr. Higgins has not yet stopped working for the SSA.