A small ceremony in Gladstone recently honored the service of Captain Chris Peck to the Australian maritime industry. Chris was awarded a commendation of service medal from the Australian Merchant Navy Awards Council.
At the age of 19, on the 9th of February 1970, Chris commenced service as a Deck Cadet with ANL. He then served continually with the ANL fleet, earning his Master's certificate in 1981.
After his long service with ANL, Chris commenced in the position of relief Master on the Dredger ‘EOK Green,’ dredging the Port of Newcastle.
During this time, Chris also worked as a lecturer of Navigation at the Sydney College of Navigation and assisted the RAN with Deck Officer training at sea.
In 1987, Chris commenced as a Tug Master with ‘Wallace Tugs’ serving in Port Kembla. During his time, the Company merged with Adsteam and then Svitzer.
In July 2010, Chris commenced as Senior Training Master with Smit Lamnalco, who had recently won the contract to supply towage to the Port of Gladstone. Initially, Chris traveled to Rotterdam, Europort, and Antwerp to observe the company's operations and to develop a training package to suit Australian conditions. Today, Chris plays an integral role at Smit Lamnalco with the continued development of the simulator training for Tug Masters and Pilots, at the Smart Ship simulator facility in Brisbane.
With respect to rescue operations, Chris recalls;
- The rescue of four Indonesian fisherman adrift at sea, while he was returning from Japan on the ‘Australian Prospector’.
- As Master of the Tug Kioloa, in adverse weather conditions, emergency towage of the ship ‘Combi Sailor’ which had lost engines, fouled its anchors, and was 600m from grounding on Coniston beach South of Wollongong.
- As Master of the Svitzer Tug Warringa, dead ship towage of a ship with a seized propeller shaft from Newcastle to Brisbane.
In his own time, Chris serves as Deputy Chief Controller for the Gladstone Volunteer Marine Rescue group, recently coordinating the air and sea evacuation of a casualty from North West Island in the Great Barrier Reef.
Captain Chris Peck is an important part of the Smit Lamnalco family and continues to bestow his extensive experience, knowledge and work ethic to new and existing employees. We are extremely proud to have him.
