CAPE MAY-LEWES FERRY - Key Persons
After joining the Ferry on the foodservice side in 2000, Cape May's Melissa Velli took the hawsepiping route. She moved to the marine crew in 2004, accumulating the 360 days of sea time necessary to earn her certification as an Ordinary Seaman. From there, as she accrued more sea time and passed more testing, she was elevated to Able-Bodied Seaman and Mate.
As part of her preparation to take on the role of Captain, Velli earned a United States Coast Guard Inland Masters License of unlimited tonnage, and a USCG First Class Pilot upon the Delaware Bay of unlimited tonnage. She also became certified in First Aid, advanced marine firefighting, and marine radio and radar operations. She was promoted to Pilot in March of 2018, taking her first passage as Captain in June. "It wasn't an easy path to get here and it took time, but I couldn't ask for a better job," she says. "I see and learn something new every day."
Ed Dankievitch, Assistant Port Engineer. Ed joined the DRBA in August 2019 as a First Assistant Engineer and was promoted to his current post in November 2020. Prior to working at the Ferry, he was a Chief Engineer for the Bridgeport and Port Jefferson Company. Dankievitch holds both a Mate's License and Limited Chief Engineer License from the US Coast Guard. He received his early training from various trade schools and certifications while working at both ferry systems.
Jeff received his initial training at the State University of New York Maritime College and came to the Cape May-Lewes Ferry as our Port Engineer in January 2018 with more than 17 years of experience on a wide variety of deep-sea drilling, commercial and military vessels. In addition to leading multi-million dollar shipyard projects for each of our vessels, he chairs the ferry's green committee to help the company overall become a better environmental and sustainability partner in the community and on the Bay. He served as a First Assistant Engineer at three prior posts before rising to Chief Engineer at Atwood Oceanics before coming to the Cape May-Lewes Ferry as our Port Engineer.
Mike also attended the State University of New York Maritime College and was an Operating Engineer at Con Edison in NYC. He also worked as a US Coast Guard Engineer for MEBA for 9 years and in the deep sea drilling environment. Before relocating to Cape May, he was a volunteer firefighter and EMT in NY State, and is working toward his Masters in Energy Management. Recently, he trained in local waters including the Delaware Bay to participate in an 8-day kayak journey from NJ to Washington DC to honor fallen heros in Operation Deep Blue in September 2020. He dedicated his journey to the DRBA's Ptl. Officer Vincent Julia, who died in the line of duty in 1996.