COLUMN | DEI: a flawed policy in crewing ships [An Innocent Australian]

So impressed with the Samoans' numerous canoes and their great skills in handling them, French Admiral Louis de Bougainville named their homeland in 1768 "the Navigator Islands."

Some 256 years later, on a Saturday afternoon earlier this month, my Samoan friends were on the south coast beach having a dress rehearsal barbecue for the imminent visit by King Charles, Queen Camilla, and all the heads of the Commonwealth for the CHOGM meeting.

Like most Samoans, my friends have more than a passing knowledge of things maritime, and they observed this high-sided ship, very close to the “lee” shore with a strong breeze, slowly moving as is required for hydrographic duties. A “lee” shore is where the wind is blowing the ship towards the shore.

Experienced sailors from small yachts to big ships know that you stay well clear of a lee shore. Boating 1.0.1 says stay clear of solid lumps like rocks, reefs, etc., which the captain of this vessel did not do.

In my four years training at sea, navigation and seamanship were two key elements of ship safety, and on the particular ship that I was on, a passenger cargo ship trading between Australia and the South Pacific, we had to keep two miles off the land, rocks, or small outcrops. If it was a “lee shore,” the captain would make it three miles. Just in case there was a power failure, this would give the engineers time to restart the engine as we had back up fuel pumps, air starts, cooling systems, etc.

"To choose a secondhand ship was not an optimal choice for the task, but typical of the defence procurement bungling bureaucratic process."

Avalanched with calls from friends and media to give commentary on this NZ ship grounding, I kept my opinion to myself until I found out the facts. Brace yourselves readers.

Did it run aground because of a female skipper? My answer is no, and being from a merchant navy background, I can tell you that as far back as the 1960s, the Russians had the first female officers and female captains on many of their cargo and passenger ships. Mind you, they were more Georgian than gorgeous, but they were highly competent and were appointed on merit, as are all merchant navy captains, male or female.

My friend Inger Thorhauge, who is Captain of Cunard’s latest liner Queen Anne, started her seagoing career at 16, as I did, and she achieved this prestigious position purely on merit, experience, and current Certificates of Competence.

In just over seven years at sea, off watch, I could sleep well knowing that other watchkeepers were experienced and capable of navigating in busy waterways, reduced visibility or close quarters. The master would mostly be on the bridge during these times.

My experience with naval ships was winning the National Service lottery where I could get shot at in Vietnam or go on board RAN ships as I was already a qualified navigator with five years sea experience. I chose the RAN because it would get me the sea time necessary to sit my masters foreign going certificate.

The RAN was an eye-opener, and due to budget constraints and crew shortages, subsequently the ships actually seldom went to sea and crew experience and competence at that time was, in my opinion, very limited. Junior officers were not allowed any decision-making even on watch, and I didn’t sleep well in the broom cupboard cabin I was sharing with three other guys down in the bowels of HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Supply when we were at sea (I recorded my experiences in Baird Maritime columns at the time, mostly to the disbelief of my merchant navy colleagues).

Was Captain Yvonne Grey appointed on merit and experience? Clearly not, or her vessel would not have been skirting close to an island with a lee shore. Remember “Boats 1.0.1.?”

Was the ship suitable for the task? Having been involved in the design of hydrographic ships, to choose a secondhand ship with a 26-metre air draught (height of windage above the waterline) for slow steaming operations in windy conditions was not an optimal choice for the task, but typical of the defence procurement bungling bureaucratic process as highlighted frequently by Greg Sheridan of The Australian.

"DEI policies in shore establishments may be unpleasant but are workable, however bosses there won’t put your life at risk."

So would the combination of an inexperienced captain and a sub-optimal vessel be a recipe for a disaster? Yes! Now you have a clearer picture.

Another female NZ commander, Fiona Jameson, had crashed another navy vessel earlier this year in Auckland. These appointments were possibly a leftover legacy from left-wing looney Jacinta Ardern, who not only stuffed the NZ economy but was foisting such DEI policies into unsuspecting government bureaucracies such as the navy. DEI policies in shore establishments may be unpleasant but are workable, however bosses there won’t put your life at risk. At sea it is an entirely different matter, and such policies should be unacceptable.

Was this event a “triumph” as described by New Zealand’s Defence minister and Navy Chief Judith Collins? What puerile nonsense from Collins in her weak response to a shameful incident! Any strong and sensible Navy Chief would have rejected any traces of DEI policies in the manning of naval ships for frontline defence.

DEI policies would be deterrent to any potential navy applicant, even female ones, who know full well this imbalanced system could see someone promoted preferentially due to belonging to a certain gender, as she would tick “another box”. Record low applicants? Get away!

On the subject of nonsense, could it have been the naughty Samoans shifting a reef without permission so the Kiwis ran into it?

Knowing the mainstream media’s quick acceptance of ridiculous nonsense like the Israelis starting the October 7 war, I flippantly suggested this as a possibility to unhappy activist people I know. Keep an eye out for Al Jazeera “unconfirmed reports”.

On a happier note, a previous CEO of a South Pacific island ferry informed me several years ago he had been instructed by his government to take at least 50 per cent female trainees, in line with DEI suggestions from matriarchal New Zealand.

"Was it a success?” I asked him.

“It was a 100 per cent success,“ he responded.

“How do you mean?”

“All of them were pregnant within six months,” he happily replied, “so we are back to normal, taking applicants on merit, male or female.”