Ship survey firm granted injunction

A Nelson company specialising in surveying the safe operation of commercial ships has won an interim injunction preventing Maritime New Zealand from withdrawing its operating certificate.

Survey Nelson, an approved Safe Ship Management company, was notified on November 20 by Maritime NZ that it had withdrawn its approval for the firm to work as a safe ship surveyor.

Safe Ship Management is a legal survey requirement for every commercially operated ship in New Zealand and was a system implemented by Maritime NZ in early 1998.

Information received by The Nelson Mail said Maritime NZ had taken further steps to revoke delegations held by surveyors contracted to Survey Nelson, meaning those surveyors did not have the right to sign "fit for purpose" documentation.

A Maritime NZ spokeswoman told The Nelson Mail yesterday that because of safety concerns, the director of Maritime NZ withdrew approval for Survey Nelson to continue operating as a Safe Ship Management (SSM) company on November 20.

On November 25, Survey Nelson lodged an application for a judicial review of Maritime NZ's decision and sought an interim order to be reinstated as an SSM company.

Correspondence sent to the Mail shows that on November 26 an order was made in the High Court at Wellington that Survey Nelson's approval as a safe ship management company be reinstated by Maritime NZ and delegations revoked by the director of Maritime NZ be reinstated.

Survey Nelson director Jean Reynolds could not be reached for comment.

However, Nelson lawyer Peter Dawson, who is also the director of specialist maritime law firm Dawson and Associates which represented Survey Nelson, said the court examined the process by which Survey Nelson was notified and found it to be fundamentally flawed.

The initial reasons for the revocation of the certificate were unclear, Mr Dawson said. The court granted an interim injunction on that basis and for reasons of lack of clarity of the process followed.

Mrs Reynolds said in a letter to clients, which was then forwarded to the Mail, that Maritime NZ had taken action after a lengthy process in recent months during which time the company had engaged with Maritime NZ to avoid having the matter referred to the court.

In the end, Survey Nelson had no option but to seek a High Court injunction.

Maritime NZ said a date for the judicial review had not yet been set, but in the meantime it would continue to inspect and audit vessels within the SSM system as part of its commitment to maritime safety within the New Zealand commercial fleet.

- © Fairfax NZ News