The only specialised marine publication in Oceania that focuses on the maritime industry, from super yachts to small craft to large commercial ships, including coastal shipping, tugs, tow boats, barges, ferries, tourist, sport-fishing craft, je
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Safe ship management faces changing times N ew Zealand's first safe ship management company, Maritime Management Services Ltd (MMS), has been serving our commercial marine industry since 1993. The company was originally formed by a group of members within the New Zealand Marine Transport Association in response to the proposed change in Maritime Rules. For five years, the association contracted Alan Moore and Simon Fraser to set up the first SSM company in conjunction with the old Maritime Safety Authority, using a handful of NZMTA member vessels as the guinea pigs. Many will recall the subsequent birth of safe ship management five years later, when commercial enterprises such as MMS took over the surveying role traditionally undertaken by government surveyors. This was not an easy time for the inshore maritime industry and proved very frustrating for the MTA members. Various consultants appointed by the MSA to the SSM project faced strong resistance to change as they struggled to introduce a new safety management culture and constantly changed the rules. This took its toll on the NZMTA, which was expected to maintain an industry advocacy voice while being an SSM company under the MSA. Simon Fraser eventually bought the company from the NZMTA in 1999. Many familiar stalwarts of our industry were to share in the unique bond with Simon around the boardroom table, including Roger Dold, Alan Moore, Jim Insley, Gordon Brown, Mark Goudie, Lawrence McLeod and Ken Winter. Outside of the fishing industry never was a finer bunch of reprobates gathered in one space as they suffered under Simon's dry, humorous dictatorship and compulsory liquid lunch regime. Similarly, Simon's amazing ability to sleep while sitting up in the middle of an audit was saved only by his right-hand lady, Margaret Wind, who offered a few swift kicks under the table now and then to keep things on track. She was thanked for this over the years when Simon Managing director Margaret Wind (seated) with operations manager Ruth Dale donned a whistle in his office, which was a full three metres from hers. One blow from Simon to the girls meant, "I'm hungry, need lunch", two blows was for coffee, and three was, "Let's have a meeting". For nearly 20 years, the partnership and business continued to grow and it now services nearly half the inshore commercial fleet in New Zealand. Margaret has been at the helm for the past few years since Simon died. Her background includes 10 years as a commercial sales manager for BP Oil, servicing some of their major transport and marine operators, including the Royal New Zealand Navy. She also worked as a marketing manager for one of BP Oil's subsidiary companies, Dominion Oil Refinery. Her passion for the marine industry stems from many years of fair weather sailing and an involvement with previous Whitbread Round the World and America's Cup races as a volunteer. Margaret has also enjoyed a 20-year interest and involvement with the NZMTA and its members and has made many new friends on both sides of the maritime camp. The company operates throughout New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands from its new head office at Half Moon Bay Marina in Auckland with a team of qualified and highly experienced surveyors and systems auditors carrying the required recognition approvals of Maritime NZ. The business has not been without its challenges and sadly these were to continue with the change in authority from the MSA to Maritime NZ. Some of the key frustrations include constant shifting of the goalposts through ever-changing maritime rules or poor interpretation of the rules, questionable standards and an apparent lack of respect and understanding of our industry's needs in recent years by Maritime NZ, which has advised that SSM has not worked and that major change is required, pointing the finger of blame squarely at SSM companies and its surveyors. The safety culture of the coastal and restricted limits industry has not improved, Maritime NZ has said. Inconsistent standards, poor reporting and/or manage- ment of vessels was rife and this needed to change. Not so, Margaret believes, the fact that serious harm incidents and deaths had reduced in the passenger sectors and there was a better reporting culture did not matter. What has been conveniently ignored was that Maritime NZ launched SSM in 1998 and left everyone to it. Every SSM company was left to its own devices to interpret Maritime Rule Part 21 as best they could, with very little guidance being given on how surveying should be performed consistently. It took another three years or more for the prescribed rules (MR40 series etc) to be issued – this is a hugely important factor when comparing surveyor standards. 28 NZ WORKBOAT REVIEW 2012 COMPANY PROFILE