The state’s inspector general tore into the Steamship Authority leadership this week in a new report that faults the ferry line general manager and board for a lack of oversight into the millions of dollars poured into a yet-to-be produced new website.
The state’s inspector general tore into the Steamship Authority leadership this week in a new report that faults the ferry line general manager and board for a lack of oversight into the millions of dollars poured into a yet-to-be produced new website.
Inspector general Jeffrey Shapiro released a 59-page report on Thursday that concluded the work on a new website, started in 2022, led to a “cascade of failures” that resulted in an unacceptable waste of public resources.
With those findings, the inspector general has recommended that the state legislature establish a special commission to determine whether the Steamship Authority’s 65-year-old enabling legislation should be updated.
“Broadly, the Steamship Authority lacks a ‘tone from the top’ and has failed to create a culture that values employee input,” Mr. Shapiro wrote. “The Steamship Authority does not appear to have an ability or desire to implement a forward-thinking, strategic approach to managing projects, rather than a by-the-seat-of-your-pants reactive approach.”
Mr. Shapiro’s office started to investigate the ferry line in 2023 in response to public concerns and press reports about crashes to the website during peak vehicle reservation periods. At the center of the report was the decision to try and build a new website before overhauling the 1990s reservation system that serves as the bedrock for people trying to book vehicle passage, according to the inspector general.
“The [inspector general’s office] found that in attempting to address the problem the SSA and its board made a critical misstep in prioritizing a website redevelopment project instead of a badly needed overhaul of the underlying ferry reservation system,” Mr. Shapiro’s office wrote in a statement. “The [office] determined that the website project, begun in 2022, wasted at least $2 million – and possibly as much as $4 million or higher – before it was ultimately shelved.”
Mr. Shapiro did not pull punches in the report and in statements to the press. The report found that general manager Robert Davis, who is set to step down from the top role at the end of the year, made miscalculations in the planning and execution of the website project, gave overly rosy project updates and ignored the advice of the Steamship’s own consultant.
Mr. Shapiro also faulted the board for not asking enough questions about the project, and failing to exercise its fiduciary responsibilities.
“The Steamship Authority has nothing to show after pouring millions of dollars into an effort that was doomed from the start,” Mr. Shapiro said. “Indeed, the Steamship Authority’s failure to appreciate the difference between the public-facing website and the back-end reservation system anchors the cascade of failures that ensued.”
In a statement to the Gazette Thursday, Steamship Authority spokesman Sean Driscoll said the ferry line received the report from the inspector general and is thoroughly reviewing the extensive document.
“As we have only recently received the report, we are unable to comment on specifics until that review is complete,” Mr. Driscoll wrote.
Members of the Steamship board acknowledged the need for improvement and oversight, and said they were eager to take these on under the leadership.
“Over the past few years, the Board has focused on the SSA’s IT infrastructure needs and has outsourced a new reservations system, engaged qualified consultants, and created an IT Executive Steering Committee, all aimed at prioritizing an efficient IT infrastructure,” Vineyard member James Malkin and Falmouth member Peter Jeffrey said in a statement.
The Steamship Authority, a quasi-public transportation agency that is tasked by the state to provide passage to the Vineyard and Nantucket, started to look into a new website and mobile app in 2020 in response to crashes earlier that year when summer vehicle reservations opened.
Mr. Shapiro faulted the authority with moving on the website before dealing with the antiquated back-end reservation system, which is owned by a man in his 70s who lives in Wisconsin.
“The Authority’s leadership became blind to the underlying dilemma: that developing a new website around a reservation system that needed replacing would likely result in a substantial waste of time and money,” according to the report.
The Steamship Authority did decide to shelve the website project in 2024 to prioritize a new reservation system, but not before spending more than $4 million on the website development. Earlier this month, ferry line officials and a consultant outlined features of the new reservation system, which the ferry line hopes to get online in 2026.
The inspector general’s office report digs deep into the back and forth on the website, including numerous change orders and reports to the board before the project was halted. It also includes 15 different findings and numerous recommendations to Steamship staff, its board and state officials.
One of the issues raised in the report includes an alleged double payment for the reservation system owner’s source code. The Steamship Authority apparently purchased a license for the source code to the reservation system in 2010, but, because of poor record keeping, bought the license again at 10 times the cost 14 years later, the report claims.
An invoice from 2010 shows the Steamship Authority paid the Saber Technologies $35,000 for source code, though ferry line employees later said that the agreement was not signed and is not enforceable.
In 2024, the ferry line then purchased the rights to the source code, with a licensing fee of $350,000.
“While the General Manager has disputed the conclusion that the 2010 agreement gave the Steamship Authority full rights to Saber’s source code, the wording of both the 2010 and 2024 agreements, as well as the email from the Steamship Authority’s general counsel, make it clear that both contracts permitted access to and modification of the reservation system’s source code,” the report concluded. “The Authority’s poor record keeping prevented it from recognizing a license for which it paid $35,000.”
The website project also did not have clear goals or timelines, according to the inspector general, leading to a cycle of extending work and increasing the budget.
The Steamship Authority management also replaced its longtime credit card processing system at the time. That swap, which included a change order for $368,962, was done without seeking board approval or seeking other potential offers, a red flag for the inspector general.
“The Steamship Authority’s poor planning in replacing its credit card processing system is yet another example of its leadership’s failure to understand the systems the Authority was using, the interrelationships of these systems, and the basic principles of project management,” the inspector general’s office wrote in the report.
The inspector general also critiqued the Steamship Authority’s decision to have the communications director initially manage the website project, given that they had no background in project management or information technology, likely leading to the delays.
The additional duties were heaped onto his existing work, leading to breakdown in duties to attend to the crisis at hand.
Mr. Davis’s portrayal of how the website project was going was another concern for the inspector general. Some issues were not fully portrayed to the board, meaning they were making decisions without the full picture. One former employee for the contractor hired to shepherd the website project felt the general manager was not being transparent with the board about the work, leading to more delays.
“The root of our launch delays and cost overruns remains the backlog of work for your already stretched team,” the employee wrote in an email to the general manager, according to the report.
“I am of the belief that it’s in both of our best interests to be transparent with the Board on this matter,” they wrote. “This would allow them to make an educated decision about establishing a proper funding and staffing....The longer we continue to not share the reality of the situation, the longer you and I will continue to find ourselves together in this vicious and toxic cycle.”
Steamship Authority officials disagreed with this assessment, and claimed that the contractor was responsible for holding up the project, according to the report.
Mr. Shapiro recommended that the Steamship Authority administration and board assess the status of the reservation system project, provide more clear reports to the board and address the potential double payment of Saber.
He also called on the Steamship to develop policies and procedures to ensure proper reviews of major projects, and urged the state secretary of transportation to conduct an audit on the ferry line.
The biggest recommendation came to the Massachusetts Legislature. Mr. Shapiro suggested that lawmakers create a special commission made of delegates from the Islands, Cape Cod and New Bedford, as well as state transportation committee members. That commission would be called to ensure the Steamship board is performing appropriate oversight and if the ferry line’s governing structure needs to be changed.
The Vineyard’s representatives in the state house, state. Sen. Julian Cyr and state Rep. Thomas Moakley, both said that change was needed and hoped the inspector general's words could prompt action.
“The residents of Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and Cape Cod deserve a professional, accountable ferry line,” Mr. Moakley said in a statement. “I hope that these findings and recommendations coming from an unbiased and thorough source like the Inspector General’s Office will serve as a catalyst for change.”
There were some spots of optimism in the report. With a new general manager coming on board in the new year, this was a good time to examine operating procedures, consider new approaches and set a new tone from the top, according to Mr. Shapiro.
Yet he was also wary about Mr. Davis staying on in a senior advisor position, saying it could prove to be an obstacle to Alex Kryska, the incoming manager.
“Aside from the question of why the Board approved the employment agreement, the role’s designated responsibilities cover three areas in which the current general manager has not demonstrated strength: strategic planning, project management, and implementing large projects,” the inspector’s office said in a statement.
Mr. Shapiro hoped the report would aid the Steamship Authority in the future, and referenced a past inspector’s report from the 1980s that also dinged the ferry line’s ability to make major decisions.
“I hope this report and its recommendations will serve as a field guide for the SSA to make needed changes in the immediate term as the incoming general manager works to set the agency’s strategic vision, culture, and agenda with a view toward a ‘best in class’ operation,” Mr. Shapiro said. “The point that the [inspector general’s office] raised in a 1985 report — that a ‘failure to properly manage major decisions can seriously impair the SSA’s future ability to provide service to the public’ — is as true today as it was 40 years ago.”
Comments
Thank God the State House is
Tim Greer TisburyThank God the State House is finally investigating the Steamship !
It’s not just mismanagement, but fraud and the AG should roll up their sleeves and do a forensic audit to uncover the overwhelming waste of tax payer dollars the Steamship is guilty of . The Steamship should be broken up and dissolved never to take another penny from the taxpayers and new organization should be created .
Well said!
Susan Desmarais Oak BluffsWell said!
I agree. The SSA should be
pat brownI agree. The SSA should be state owned and managed.
Susan didn’t advocate for
Jim EdgartownSusan didn’t advocate for State run. In fact, the State doesn’t run anything well.
Instead a proper business with regular over sight is what is needed. This can take many forms. As expected, the Inspector didn’t show any concerns for the current State/Public Steamship structure. So, don’t hope for any change.
The SSA is run by of we the
Albert GosnoldThe SSA is run by of we the people of the state.
Would complete state control improve service?
Your indignation is valid,
David EdgartownYour indignation is valid, but I’m pretty sure the SSA doesn’t take any “taxpayer money”. It’s a self-funding organization that get no money from the state.
well, there were federal
michael edgartownwell, there were federal funds used. and if you read the report, mass dot funds were also used....this is a disaster....
Steamship Authority’s
treasurer acknowledged that the
use of federal funds played a role
in the Authority’s decision to
continue working on the website
project, rather than shelving it.
Not taxpayer funds, unless
Jo-Ann West TisburyNot taxpayer funds, unless there’s a deficit; in which case the port towns pay the shortfall with our town and city (New Bedford) property taxes. It is our money, as users, that pays to run the SSA and has been squandered. And turning SSA over to the state to run would be a disaster. Think Big Dig. We need to excise the present poor management and let the new guy have a fighting chance.
They should take it out their
Islander MVThey should take it out their salaries, that would do the trick. There were never, with the board’s discretion, any enforceable goals to meet for this leadership and it showed.
They should have been
Charlie Callahan So Boston/EdgartownThey should have been investigated by the Inspector General years ago,they must be getting nervous now that someth is gonna be done
as i have said over and over,
michael edgartownas i have said over and over, the ferry is unsustainable.. and now the dysfunctional state house wants to get involved....that means you will become a mbta community, and wont have to answer to the mvc anymore...its going to be build build build with no obstacles. after all its in the name of "affordable housing"
Totally agree with you!
Elizabeth EdgartownTotally agree with you!
The SSA does not answer to
Jo-Ann West TisburyThe SSA does not answer to MVC. The state legislature exempted them years ago. The state would not run SSA better. Can you say “Big Dig”?
I was sitting here reading
Glenn Olaf Oak BluffsI was sitting here reading this and mentioned it to my wife, who about 10 years ago developed a wonderful website for our business and she just said, well if she had charged for it, it would have been about $5,000.
Then, I explained the amazing amount of money the SSA has been pouring into their website project, without hesitation she said, I'd do it for $25,000 and that the SSA is running one heck of a slush fund with all that wasted money.
Time to drain the SSA
Mark VHTime to drain the SSA leadership and Board swamp! Now!
It is unbelievable that the
Robert Knight ChappaquiddickIt is unbelievable that the Board agreed to keep the retiring General Manager on as a consultant. Besides the website problems, this is the guy who presided over the extravagant, badly thought out buildings in Woods Hole. We need a clean break from Mr Davis, and a new board as well.
How about an article on the consulting package offered to Davis by the Board?
Thank you State IG. The
Henry VHThank you State IG. The state needs to take control of the SSA and put an end to the long standing waste and mismanagement--not just the website, but also the excessive and unnecessary construction projects. The citizens of Massachusetts and residents of Martha's Vineyard deserve better.
Not only is the unneeded new
Katherine Scott TisburyNot only is the unneeded new ticket office a colossal waste of money, but it also has totally ruined the ambience of the Woods Hole waterfront and the experience of Islanders returning home and visitors to the island. It is an ugly blot on the landscape and the view. Everyone hates it, Woods Holers and Islanders. Everone says the same: The "temporary" ticket office was never full. This building has BOONDOGGLE written all over it. Who gave the go-ahead on this? Where does the buck stop? @@@Construction should be halted and the half-eaten carcass should be torn down. It will be torn down in twenty years anyhow. Furthermore it was obvious from the get-go, the first meeting at the high school in which they presented the need for a new slip and a new terminal, that SSA managers had no clue whatsoever as to how the traffic and pedestrian flows would be handled with a huge building sitting in the middle of the staging area. Now we see how hopeless the whole thing is, with pedestrians shoved to the side in unclearly marked narrow corridors to try to get around the construction site, then they must wend their way through staged vehicles to make their way to the ferry itself. For shame!! Whoever is managing this project should be fired. The architect should be fired. Let's stop the bleeding now.
"The "temporary" ticket
Michelle Katz VH"The "temporary" ticket office was never full."?! I suppose you never had to sit under a water fountain on the nasty floor because there was nowhere else to sit or stand and there was a hidden outlet for you to charge your phone on. And forget going outside because it was raining sideways and the boats were cancelled for the rest of the night and there were at least 150 people crammed into that little building!
I am not saying the new building isn't without its faults! But the temp building was never a long term viable solution with 4 benches.
And we wonder why the prices
EdAnd we wonder why the prices are so high compared to other ferry lines.
Totally agree!
Christine SengeTotally agree!
This software requirement is
Danny East ChopThis software requirement is pretty basic. You should give the project to the local high school tech class. Bet you’d be surprised
I’m so glad this report came
John Cabral Oak BluffsI’m so glad this report came out. I think half the problem is having the commission serve terms who are not really full time employees. They can easily get the wool pulled over their eyes. The steamship is a business and I personally see some things that can easily be changed.
Most of the issues of “open boats” boats is the blue line. So to solve the situation think of it this way. To make it easy all tickets are sold for every boat for the entire day. Now the blue line starts….. They boat still keep the 5 open spots. The blue line people when checking in get their assigned time card and go to the blue line. The boat is now loaded with people assigned to the correct time. After this the blue line is moved. These tickets go to another pile which now goes to the ticket office and opens whatever slots the blue line was scheduled for. Now the steam ship can sell those spots to the general public or the person who missed their boat this is now extra revenue. If you look at the last boat it is typically like 5 or so cars because of the accumulation of the 5 open spot per trip accumulated. Say it’s 70 cars that could be added per trip for 365 days at island rate that’s almost 1 million in lost revenue.
Now I am not a consultant for the steamship but I know how to capture revenue. Who ever is running the show enjoy the only freebie I’m giving you. This is not rocket science.
Three words folks. Class
Finally EdgartownThree words folks. Class Action Lawsuit. It’s time to uncover the facts, the gross fiduciary negligence and the pure graft we have witnessed with the expenditures on the Woods Hole terminal(s), the blundered “new” ahem “used” freighters and clearly per this article, the website software debacle. We deserve better and frankly, this appears to be just the beginning of a reckoning unforeseen until now.
Yep, not a bad idea. And not
Islander EdgartownYep, not a bad idea. And not only the Vineyard, but those in Woods Hole who have also borne the brunt of vast malfeasance and tragic incompetence.
Yes. This is a real option
FinallyYes. This is a real option for us all and of course to be included are the members of the Woods Hole community and those affected by the incompetence that has resulted in proven detriment. If we think the SSA will self regulate or the State intervene are grossly inept in expectations. The legal system is a tool and without a major reckoning, nothing will change. Imagine the tens of millions of lost GDP that has been evaporated by the inability of the SSA to maintain fiscal responsibility. For heavens sake we had an SSA manager physically move to Alabama! How on earth is that normal to oversee a retrofit of defunct oil and gas drilling vessels? It’s time to lawyer up.
How did Davis get raises
MATT CHILD OF GAY HEADHow did Davis get raises every year if they did a poor job? THE SENIOR ADVISOR POSITION SHOULD BE ABOLISED IMMEDIATLY!!!!!!
I really hope some action is
RC DC/OBI really hope some action is taken after this report, apparently it was not 40 years ago.
Reading this report of the
James T EdgartownReading this report of the detailed, critical IG assessment of Mr Davis and the board alongside the report of the praise of Mr Davis by the board at his last meeting as GM makes one think the GM and board are too close. This makes the board’s contracting with Mr Davis as senior advisor especially troubling.
This is no surprise at all…
David EdgartownThis is no surprise at all… this is a complete joke of an operation and we all know it… hope we see change.
Shame on our elected officials not doing anything for all these years….
I think it’s time to examine
Sarah Sylvia Martha’s VineyardI think it’s time to examine alternatives to the SSA. Coupled with on-going rising rate hikes, innumerable service disruptions, and a clear lack of leadership, the residents of MV and ACK deserve so much more. Namely, lower rates, increased ferry services, and to ensure that residents come first.
The people making the
Ron Dagostino West TisburyThe people making the decisions on the website project that was ultimately cancelled did not understand Information Technology architectures. In an enterprise like this the web site sits on top of the underlying reservation system. The two systems need to be separate, and the web site needs to leverage services that the back-end reservation system provides. That’s the only scalable solution. (And it can’t be done for $25,000 as was suggested in another comment.). Putting in a new website to fix a scalability problem without changing the reservation system itself is like saying I want to replace the second floor of a house when the house itself is a tear-down. It just doesn’t make any sense.
I don’t know who was involved in the decision-making process, but I wonder who the Chief Technology Officer was at the time. Or was there no such position? A CTO needs to directly understand this architectural constraint. Anybody with that understanding could have raised a red flag when the project was proposed. I wonder if anybody did, and if they did, what the justification was for going forward with what was almost certainly a doomed project.
I had a boyhood friend and
Charlie Callahan So Boston/EdgartownI had a boyhood friend and he was Inspector General years ago and he told me recently he would have looked into the SSA when he was IG if what's going on now was going on 50 years ago
One of a number of reasons we
Gary Reichert High Falls NYOne of a number of reasons we moved off the island. Love the people, the geography, and the vibe. It was my home for seven years. The main reason for leaving was the unreliable service provided by the SSA. They’re an entity unto themselves. They answer to no one. They raise rates, provide deteriorating services, spend millions of terminals,IT, and buying used boats that cost millions to upgrade. Those boats they breakdown constantly. This investigation will lead to nothing,zero! They will just go along and keep doing what they do. No concern for the people whose lives depend on them.
Can private enterprise do a
Albert GosnoldCan private enterprise do a better job?
Why was the SSA created?
Are new boats, like cars and houses, cheaper?
The SSA was created because
OB Resident Oak BluffsThe SSA was created because no private enterprise could make any money on a year round service to the island. The SSA is obligated to do that.
Time to send in DOGE.
Sara Piazza EdgartownTime to send in DOGE.
I love your comment, Sara,
Dean Rosenthal EdgartownI love your comment, Sara, although even I think the “shoot first and ask questions later” method or the “move quickly and break things” technique will not solve the problem, because it hasn’t worked federally, which shows in our economic weakness, inflation, and limited coverage of other factors we are losing nationally abd internationally. DOGE not only barely cut costs, but it killed a lot of exceptional people’s work for America in the process of purportedly trimming fat, and the haphazardness of execution is costing taxpayers billions. The Steamship Authority is small potatoes in comparison to federal agencies.
I lived in Washington state
Greg ChilmarkI lived in Washington state for a year and they have an extensive state owned ferry service. I paid 17$ for myself and my vehicle for a 2 hour long ferry ride! They have backup boats they quickly switch in if a vessel goes down, they allow cars to load themselves instead of having 4 crew members directing one car on. Food also isn’t so expensive and it’s much better! The steamship is an extremely corrupt and sickly state endorsed monopoly.
$4mm could buy a fast ferry
James Vineyard Haven$4mm could buy a fast ferry or two. Get with the Times!!
The disaster of a new
JB EdgartownThe disaster of a new terminal building is the physical embodiment of the disastrous website project. All we needed was something simple: to buy tickets and make reservations. They made the building worse. Hunch is the website will be just as bad. But at least it won’t be physically in the way of getting us on the ferry.
The report says they blew two
Thomas S Hodgson West TisburyThe report says they blew two to four million on their intertubes work. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Let's not forget those stupid Woods Hole batwing "shelters" that don't shelter: by themselves they represent a waste of five million dollars. Nevermind the bogusly huge cost of the @WH terminal project. Nevermind the freight boat fiasco. Nevermind the sweetheart hog-at-the-trough "consultant" deal for the GM's retirement. Nevermind the decades of self-dealing and double-dealing. Nevermind the "good old boys" who started the SSA and sowed the seeds of its terrible corporate culture. And on and on.. And on and on. The former Massachusetts Turnpike Authority was "run" in a similar manner, and 2009 the MTA was abolished and folded into the MASS DOT. Is it time to abolish the SSA?
Why isn’t anyone interviewing
Isabella Stewart Fernandina Beach FL and EdgartownWhy isn’t anyone interviewing the Chairman of the SSA Board, Chilmark resident?
Bob Davis was given a
Jason Atwood Oak BluffsBob Davis was given a sweetheart deal by an out of touch Board. He will collect a princely sum for the next 18 months for essentially doing nothing. Why would anyone at the SSA want to take his advice?
The buildings in WH is what
Mike EdgartownThe buildings in WH is what did me in….. who in their right mind would even think of that placement. Oh, how about the new slips that can’t use the gang way at low tide? What is going on???
Whenever a business
Terry Donahue EdgartownWhenever a business experiences long term problems the board of directors are to blame. The SSA has operated for years dealing with issues as they arise rather than establishing a culture based on long range planning. The fact that the SSA charter allows the board to borrow monies with no oversight has also contributed to our current state. An example is building a temporary a ticket office rather than using that space for the new permanent building.
Wasted money & a misuse of the property seem to have lead to the position of the new building. My opinion is the current steamship governors are good people who are trying but lack the experience to run a multimillion dollar per year business.
It is time to remove the current board and replace them with qualified people with the knowledge required. It is what the island did for our hospital, the blue print is already in our hands, we just need the will to apply it.
In 32 years of doing IT
Brian Downing EdgartownIn 32 years of doing IT projects, I’ve seen a lot of graves dug like this. While MV is unusual, it’s not unique. You find someone who has done this very thing, then you get a quote (s). Then you be transparent. You put it out, and say to all, what do you think of this?
The health of the island's
Don Klepper-Smith 5 pine laThe health of the island's economy is directly tied to the quality of its transportation infrastructure. Cost-effective and timely access to the island is essential if this Island has a future. To the degree that these long-term SSA issues go unresolved, it will say tons about the Island's ability to right itself given the political climate nationally. We moved off island because these SSA problems lack a sense of urgency. No more excuses.
Now we have proof of what we
Ken R OB/CharoletteNow we have proof of what we always suspected.
is there a reason why the u.s
michael edgartownis there a reason why the u.s. attorney cant look into the web site crisis? there is federal money involved, and the u.s. attorney has to make sure there is no hanky pinky with the site. its taxpayer money and should be accounted for........and please, dont count on massachusetts to look into anything.....remember we voted for an audit, and they are not cooperating? leave the state out of this...
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