Home site for NZ Company of Master Mariners
{ Category Archives }
The Wellington Branch will hold meetings at Quay Plaza Hotel, Oriental Parade, 1200 for 1300 on the following dates in 2010.
Wednesday 11 August: Annual General Meeting of New Zealand Company
Wednesday 08 September: Speaker to be advised
Wednesday 13 October:
Wednesday 17 November: Cocktail Evening at 1700 at same venue.
The following excerpt from the Wellington Wardens report to the Wellington AGM.
In respect to present day seafaring, the author of this report is privileged, some may think mentally unbalanced, to still be an active seafarer. During the year under review voyages were undertaken on a break bulk vessel to the Chatham Island’s, a coastal container vessel, a multi-purpose general cargo/container ship and a bulk vessel. On the latter vessel a cargo of bulk wheat was taken from Timaru to New Plymouth. Further trips of bulk wheat are scheduled to other NZ ports.
The purpose of mentioning the above is to seriously question the myriad of rules, regulations etc. that have been adopted for the New Zealand maritime industry.
A change that took place some years ago was the disbanding of Government Shipping Offices along with Official Log Books and seamen’s official Certificate of Discharges from vessels and the disbanding of the Marine Department Surveyors, placing this task with private enterprise companies and its disjointed survey system. At the time this seemed a sensible money saving idea by closing down the few shipping offices that were only at major ports and making the staff redundant but it was also disbanding an efficient system in respect to safe ship operations.
The present system of safe ship management seemed a great idea but with the introduction of the United Nations ISM Code, it does seem to be an overkill with no regard for economics as it encourages the employment of an army of parasites funded by the shipping industry. The ISM regulations may-be required and need to be policed on those vessels sailing under flags of convenience that have crews whose masters and officers would be better suited to be employed as street hawkers.
The ISM Code usurps the authority of the ship’s master and is insulting to all crew who have spent a few years at sea. The Code insists that the shipping company establish procedures and checklists for key shipboard operations. Many of these key procedures and check lists are practices and disciplines that any reasonable sailor has been accustomed to since his days as a deck boy or a first year cadet.
What are these checklists and procedures? The ship I’m on at present has a crew of 6 plus the master. It is a requirement to have three garbage bins, one for paper, one for plastics and one for edible galley scraps. On arrival in New Plymouth the refuse collector arrived and took away the garbage noting that each bin contained the appropriate type of refuse and produced a receipt for the same. Had the edible scraps been empty indicating it had been jettisoned at sea, the vessel’s voyage plan may have been inspected to ensure that the ship had been at least 12 nautical miles off the coast during the latter part of the voyage. That is the minimum distance off the coast for dumping galley scraps. It is unclear who does the inspection of the voyage plan but he/she may run a risk of wearing the garbage if they make such a request of most of the good ships masters that I have sailed with in the past. In respect to plastics most, if not all sailors, are aware of its problem to sea life and its inability to decompose. Even those with a low IQ are aware of this and will not dispose of it into the ocean for fear of bringing down the wroth of the crew on them.
With reference to checklists, the chartroom has an elaborately printed plastic covered checklist giving commonsense procedural instructions such as have the harbour plan out of the chart draw, contact harbour control with latest ETA, advise engineer of standby time and all those other logical procedures learnt by a first trip third mate. Most of the instructions are given in the Master’s night orders book and it is difficult to understand why this basic seamanship is duplicated by the ISM Code. Obviously providing unnecessary costs and building up a parasitical empire with additional parasites who do not contribute to making a dollar. Regretfully they pass regulations that burden ships masters with unnecessary and unproductive paper work plus using a masters valuable time being audited by some person who may have never been to sea. New Zealand would do well not to take the United Nations seriously especially as when a multi-billion dollar tax funded talk feast can issue an edict declaring NZ inhumane because it issues it’s police with stun guns and is not aware that NZ Police are not armed. This says it all about the United Nations.
Passage Plans. As always in a well run vessel the second mate lays the course off on paper charts to the Master’s instructions of distances off points of land etc. This is still the practice but the latitude and longitude of the course alterations are numbered and typed onto a sheet of paper and headed up as the Passage Plan. This is displayed in the chart room and must be produced if the garbage disposal does not satisfy some worthless bureaucrat or some ISM or SSM safety auditor who thinks that ships run on train lines.
Safe Ship Management, similar to ISM, has also become a monster that has grown at the hands of boffins and others dreaming up restrictive regulations to justify their existence at the cost of the New Zealand shipping industry. It would be a fair bet that Maritime New Zealand now employs more people than its predecessor which included surveyors, shipping officers and nautical tutors etc. Such is the cost of progress if that’s what it can be called.
It is with regret that we report the death of Captain John Wilson Dickinson on 29 March 2010.
John Dickinson, who was a life member of the Company, went to sea at the age of 16 when he sailed from Liverpool on the Henderson Line ship SAGAING in December 1940 as a cadet. After one trip to India and Burma he returned to Glasgow and joined H Hogarth and Sons where he was able to sign indentures in June 1941.
He survived the war and obtained his 2nd mates certificate in 1944.
He joined the Union Steam Ship Company in 1947 and came out to New Zealand on the KOMATA.
He was mate on the MANUKA from 1948 until 1951. MANUKA was the mother ship for the cod fishing fleet at the Chatham Islands.
In 1951 he was appointed Master of the PORT WAIKATO, which was running to the Chatham Islands for Holm & Company.
In 1957 he was appointed General Secretary of the New Zealand Merchant Service Guild and in addition General Secretary of New Zealand Airline Pilots Association in 1962, a position he held until 1985.
He retired from the Merchant Service Guild in 1987 and was appointed to the Arbitration Commission for 4 years until 1991.
He joined the Company of Master Mariners in 1951 and was well known and respected by all ship masters and officers.
Photos from the recent evening held at the Bay Plaza Hotel.
Colin Sarten and Tony Spite
The Wellington Branch and the Durham Association jointly hosted the 2009 Otaki Scholar at a luncheon in Wellington on Tuesday 11 August.
Some of the Wellington members at the recent AGM luncheon.
Captain Ron Palmer’s Report to Wellington AGM 13 May 2009
During the past year the regular monthly meetings have had a variety of speakers providing interesting topics. The Bay Plaza Hotel has remained as the meeting headquarters and its central location with free parking facilities makes it an attractive venue.
A steady number of members attended the regular monthly meetings held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. However, there is room for improvement and those members who do not or cannot attend miss out on some very good speakers with interesting and at time controversial topics. Obviously maritime topics create much interest and in particular the direction that modern thinking is taking the industry with respect to the requirements and qualifications required for deck officer certification, one topic that created some concern among members.
It is easy for those with influence and authority responsible for introducing new policy requirements for seafarers and qualifications for deck officers to write off the views of members of the NZ Company of Master Mariners as being retired ex seagoing dinosaurs living in a past era. Nonetheless to argue that a person can join a Cook Strait ferry as a Cadet and eventually obtain a Foreign Going Masters certificate without leaving the confines of Cook Strait and the ferries that the end product will be an experienced sailor, deck officer and a competent ships master, gives cause for concern.
It is not advocated that foreign going sea service be a prerequisite for obtaining foreign going certificates. Surely a system could be developed where a cadet who joins the Cook Strait ferries must do a certain amount of time on other NZ merchant vessels such as LPG and octane tankers, bulk cement vessels, container vessels and break bulk vessels. (one has a regularly run to the Chatham Islands). Tug and barge should also be included. Such experience would help to produce a well rounded and competent mariner.
Those suggestions will be considered by the boffins as the utterances of a mariner from the dinosaur era not an ex mariner albeit as current experience confirms that there is a significant drop in the standard of seamanship of modern day seafarers. Regardless there is currently consideration by people in influential positions to allow six months sea service as sufficient time for a person to sit for a Second Mates Foreign Going certificate.
Regretfully the NZ Merchant Marine has been in decline for many years and the prospects of its merchant fleet increasing in the future are not good. Obviously the long term future for the NZ Company of Master Mariners is not encouraging and no doubt the day will come when it will fade away completely and may become only a memory in New Zealand’s maritime history. Time can be extended if those master mariners who seem reluctant to participate in the Company do so and encourage fellow master mariners to become members and attend the monthly meetings.
The total number of members is 73. This is a decrease of 2 from the membership last year. The membership comprise of 28 Full members; 23 Retired 11 Country; 3 Life; 3 Honorary; 5 Friends.
New members who joined during the year were Nick Campbell, a country member, and 2 friends, namely Howard Lange and Peter Cagney.
One possible resignation is Captain Eric Irons who has shifted to Australia.
Regretfully it is reported that 3 members passed away during the year. They were; A past Harbour Master of Wellington and an Officer of the Barque “Pamir” Captain Alan Jenkins; An ex Master in Shaw Savill and well known in shipping circles, Captain John Sayers; A well known friend of the Company and also an ex “Pamir” crew and Cape Horner, Murray Henderson.
A matter worthy of note was that Captain Peter Attwood, representing the Merchant Navy, laid a wreath at the Hall of Memories on Armistice Day. Also we again joined forces with the “Durham” Association in hosting the “Otaki” scholar in August. In November ladies night was held at the Bay Plaza. This is developing into a very enjoyable social event and the number of members and their wives/partners who remain for dinner afterwards is growing. Again members from Waikanae and one from Taupo took advantage of the Bay Plaza and stayed overnight.
The Committee has functioned well during the year and has been helpful in its deliberations and assistance towards the smooth running of the Company. Special thanks must go the Honorary Secretary, Captain Graham Williams who carries out the major tasks of organising the monthly meetings and more importantly the speakers for those meetings. The Treasurer, Captain Cor Van Kesteren also does a diligent job and takes good care of the financial side of the Company. The Auditor, Ross Seaton continues to be an asset and least but not last Captain Warwick Thomson, compiler and editor of our Branch Newsletter. Warwick does a very professional job of editing our Wellington Branch Maritime Notes. He has relinquished the editorship of “On Deck”, the reinstated annual publication of the New Zealand Company, and a replacement is now being sought.
Finally it is mentioned that Captain Brown, Master of the NZ Company intends to stand down at the August AGM of the NZ Company. Also the General Secretary, Captain Ken Watt is standing down. Both have held these positions for 5 years and have done a very efficient and diligent job in promoting the NZ Company of Master Mariners whenever possible. The Wellington Branch extends its gratitude to both of these members.
The Master Capt J A Brown and the Wellington Warden Capt R A Palmer joined with members of the Durham Association and Institute of Engineers to welcome the 2008 Otaki Scholar to Wellington at a function at the Bay Plaza Hotel on Tuesday 12 August 2008.
For those Wellington members who attended the meeting last week when the Manager of ONV gave a very interesting talk on oil exploration in New Zealand. For more information on the FPSO Raroa and the platform now unloading in Admiralty Bay go to these links.
Our annual meeting with members of the Durham Association was held at the Bay Plaza Hotel, Wellington on Monday 20 August 2007. This was to mark the visit of the 64th Otaki Scholar from Robert Gordon School in Aberdeen, Scotland.
2007 Otaki Scholar Denesh Srikrantharajah with Captain Tony Date, Wellington Secretary of the Durham Association.
Some of the Durham Association and Wellington Master Mariners members at the Annual Otaki Scholar meeting. From Left: John Davis, Richard Davis, Tony Spite, Brian Baggott, Ian Murray, Alfie des Tombe, Neil Bissell, Denesh Srikantharajah, Alan Darroch, Nicolas Wilson, Ian Dymock, John Brown, Tony Date, John Hermans, Cor van Kesteren, Graham Williams, John Withington, Ian Mackey, Peter Wright.