PORTSMOUTH - Increasing requirements dictated by port homeland security regulations turned out to be the final straw for the Isles of Shoals Steamship Co.; its boat, the venerable M/V Thomas Laighton; and its owner, Robin Whittaker.

Effective this coming tourist season, the company will no longer supply the ferry service that for 150 years brought day-trippers, hotel guests, baggage and supplies to Star Island. Instead, Whittaker said, she will concentrate on the company’s educational- and special-events business.

"It’s the best thing I can do for my business, the community and for preserving the history of this area and the Isles of Shoals," Whittaker said. "We will be better able to deliver our great product, which is our sight-seeing and function cruises."

The costs and problems associated with having the Laighton act as a supply ship for the Star Island Corp. have steadily been rising over the years, forcing Whittaker to think seriously about discontinuing the service, she said. But it wasn’t until port homeland security issues arose last year that she decided not to renew her contract with the island corporation.

"All of a sudden, we had to take a lot of focus away from running our business and start worrying about, ‘Are we doing this or doing that right,’" said Whittaker, who contends she is a supporter of homeland security and praised the Coast Guard for its efforts. "Over the last five years, we’ve been moving in this direction. Homeland security was the deciding factor."

And Whittaker said her decision will not greatly impact the Star Island Corp.’s hotel and conference business or the need to get students out to the University of New Hampshire’s Shoals Marine Laboratory on Appledore Island. Both entities run their own smaller boats that can be used to perform the functions the Laighton now performs.

As for the steamship company, not much of what most people expect from it will change, and new projects are in the works, Whittaker said.

"I am going to do everything I always did, but not have to deal with hundreds of pounds of food and water, 400 pieces of freight and be under higher regulations from Homeland Security for what is essentially a 12-week season," she said.

In addition, she will now be able to offer more of the educational programs she believes are so important in preserving and displaying the nine rocky islands that dot the Maine/New Hampshire borders just six miles off the coast, as well as the nautical history and current marine operations of the region.

"It’s about the Isles of Shoals; they are so unique," Whittaker said. "I want to educate people about them."

She plans to renovate the Laighton and increase the use of a portable aquatic touch-tank, and she is working with teachers across the region on developing a curriculum for students who come aboard for a close-up look at the isles and a taste of life on the high seas.

"I made this decision so we can focus our energies less on regulations and laws, and more on our product," Whittaker said.

The Isles of Shoals Steamship Co. has carried on the tradition of ferry service to the isles more than 150 years and later as the lifeline to Star Island. From mid-June through September, it made daily trips bringing water, mail and supplies, along with day passengers and island guests, to Star Island, site of the 250-guest capacity Oceanic Hotel.

In 1897, the Oceanic Hotel became the site for non-denominational conferences of international renown, which continue to this day. On each of the ferry runs, a historian shared stories of the history, geology and lore of these islands. Those guided tours will continue without the stop at Star Island.

The company’s boat is named after the man who opened the Appledore House in 1848.