Business of safety at sea

By ROBIN BAILEY

The career of Auckland waterfront identity Simon Fraser proves that given the right sequence of events, oil and water can mix.

After spending the first 20 years of a busy working life with petroleum giant BP, Fraser moved on to become chief executive of Dominion Oil Refining Company, a position he held from 1983 to 1993.

He was responsible for the manufacturing and marketing of a whole bunch of lubricants as well as for the safety performance of the company. This led to a move into the marine world after his retirement in 1993.

The Maritime Safety Authority had just introduced New Zealand's first Safe Ship Management programme and the search was on for people with the organisational and business skills to make it work.

Contact with the then New Zealand Maritime Transport Association saw the oilman approached to head a new venture to ensure ships of its members complied with the new safety management system. Maritime Management Services Limited was formed and became the first company in the country to be warranted by the MSA to issue compliance certificates.

The warrant was conditional on the new company gaining ISO 9001 certification, which it did in December 1993.

The company quickly expanded its field of operation to include all sectors of the industry, not just shipowners who were members of the NZMTA.

Today it operates from the Bay of Islands to Stewart Island.

"We issue certificates for commercial craft from 3.5m to 45m," says Fraser. "Three-and-a-half metres may seem pretty small, but it can apply to little craft operating on lakes and rivers. Everything that comes under the SSM rule must comply. That means checking for properly qualified skippers and all sorts of certification as well as a raft of other requirements."

Fraser believes that the safety culture in this country has improved vastly since the introduction of the SSM, a view that is supported by Maritime Safety Authority director Russell Kilvington.

"This is a good example of how a traditional regulatory function has been out-sourced to the private sector, giving customers a choice within a competitive market while retaining the independent non-profit-making government regulator at the helm," Kilvington says.

"After more than four years in operation, we are reviewing SSM system with a consultant's report due in a few weeks. We understand the system will get a tick for moving some way toward its ultimate goal. This is to change the safety culture in the operating industry from one of waiting for an annual visit from a surveyor to tell you about safety (then forgetting it for another 12 months) to one of operator responsibility for their own safety at all times. This makes the surveyor visit more of a formality ... a chance to discuss the finer detail."

The MSA director adds that the bigger the company or operation, the more the concept of SSM has been fully and willingly embraced. This seems not to be the case with some of the smaller operators, which may have to be addressed via the SSM companies which are "as much our eyes and ears in the industry as our own staff".

Fraser says his team is looking forward to the results of the survey and working to ensure the system becomes even more effective over all sectors of the marine industry.

At the same time he is preparing for a challenge of a different sort. As course marshal for the 2002-03 Louis Vuitton Cup America's Cup challengers' series, he will be responsible for making sure the on-the-water activity before, during and after racing in the world's biggest regatta goes smoothly.

"My job is to work with Challenger of Record Management principal race officer Peter (Luigi) Reggio and operations manager Merv Appleton in developing the necessary procedures for laying the course starting and windward box buoys," Fraser says. "We also have to ensure the large fleet of patrol boats can carry out their race and spectator control duties."

The America's Cup role is one for which the oilman-sailor has served a long apprenticeship. He began his yachting career in P-Class at the Muritai Club on the eastern side of Wellington Harbour, moving up to Idlealongs and dinghy classes, then sailed as forward hand with Hal Wagstaff in Leander class Rs.

In Auckland he has sailed a Raven 26 called Frippery, then a Chico 30 Chiriaco before moving into Ruffian, a Warwick 36 launch. Fraser has served two terms as chairman of the Auckland Anniversary Regatta Society, has been club captain, rear commodore and vice-commodore of the Bucklands Beach Yacht Club and was dockmaster for the 1994 and 1998 Whitbread stopovers in Auckland.

Now he plans to be on the water in Ruffian when his Louis Vuitton duties are over, to watch Team New Zealand retain the America's Cup.