Steamship's Authority's Chief Operating Officer Resigns

The Steamship Authority's chief operating officer, Mark Higgins, will resign from his position effective Dec. 4th., less than two years after taking the job.

"To my incredible staff, I want to express my heartfelt thanks for your dedication, hard work, and unwavering commitment," Higgins wrote in his resignation letter. "Together, we have faced numerous obstacles outside of our control, yet your perseverance and resilience have shone through. Your ability to adapt and overcome challenges has been nothing short of remarkable, and it has been an honor to lead such a passionate and talented group of individuals."

Higgins was hired in March 2023 as the Steamship Authority continued to implement the recommendations from a consultant's report that included the addition of the COO position, among other changes at the boat line.

In a statement provided to the Vineyard Gazette, James Malkin, the Vineyard's representative on the Steamship Authority's Board of Governors, stated that Higgins had "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."

As Malkin alluded, Higgins' resignation follows the recent announcement that Steamship Authority general manager Bob Davis will be stepping down from his leadership post in 2025 and moving into an advisory role.

“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,” Davis said in a statement released Friday. “I plan to discuss the vacancy with the board and work with the members to determine a timeline for next steps regarding the position.”

The creation of the chief operating officer position was "strongly recommended" in a 2018 HMS Consulting report that comprehensively reviewed the Steamship's operations.

"It is strongly recommended that the SSA consider a realignment of the chain of command and roles and responsibilities among operations and engineering personnel, add a Chief Operating Officer (COO) and a Director of Marine Operations, and delete the Assistant Port Captain position," the HMS Consulting report stated.

The recommendation was based on two specific observations of the SSA's operations, including "communication issues, conflicts of interest and a general confusion of authority between the Vessel Operations and Engineering departments," as well as "a lack of maritime operating experience at the executive/director level and the organization’s prime function’s (vessel operations) interests and priorities are not properly represented in the decision-making process."

Four years after the recommendation was received, the Steamship Authority created the COO position "to elevate the level of decision-making for the Authority’s core disciplines so that, when there are conflicts between divisions, there is someone well-placed within the organization to resolve the conflicts and make the ultimate decision."