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By Samuel Chitty
An iconic local vessel has entered a new chapter under the stewardship of NZ Oceanic Charters, based out of Warkworth.
Hawere is named for Mahurangi’s own Motu Hawere, or Goat Island. An area rich in history, the island is said to have been the landing place of Ngāti Manuhiri’s ancestral waka, provided the centrepiece of the nation’s first marine reserve in 1975, and is a hub for fishery research, marine biology and aquacultural development.
It is fitting, then, that the island’s nautical namesake, Hawere, began life as a research vessel for the University of Auckland, commissioned to aid the Leigh Marine Laboratory with estuary surveys, overnight research cruises and dive trips. According to Dr Richard Taylor, from the University of Auckland’s School of Biological Sciences, Hawere helped create new and groundbreaking information on a “huge range of habitats and locations in the Hauraki Gulf and beyond”.
Come today, Hawere can be found moored at Scott’s Landing, and under the care of the newly-formed NZ Oceanic Charters. Over the last few years, the dive industry has had to contend with particularly harsh winters, increased compliance regulations and, of course, the circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has resulted in a downturn for the local charter market, something which NZ Oceanic Charters, buoyed by the acquirement of the Hawere, hopes to change.
United by a shared passion for the sea, the company has come about as a collaboration between three owners – owner and director of international brokerage SeaBoats Geoff Fraser, owner and operator of New Zealand Diving in Warkworth Neil Bennett, and managing director of cleaning company A-Jet Services Mike Collins.
In anticipation of the coming summer, NZ Oceanic has dedicated the past winter to giving Hawere a complete overhaul. Various refurbishments, renovations and refits have helped ensure Hawere is summer-fit, and that all operations can go ahead without a hitch. Hawere’s specs are impressive – she houses two powerful Caterpillar 3126 engines capable of reaching cruising speeds of 19 knots, giving her a wide operational range, especially when partnered with a 2000-litre fuel capacity.
In her new role, the Hawere is intended to help stimulate two main markets. The first is marine research. Fitted with commercial features such as hoists and winches, she is well-equipped to assist researchers, and has already supported organisations such as NIWA. Recently, she enabled them to carry out deep-sea photography of ocean scallop beds, needed to aid sustainability research.
The second market is recreational live-aboard charters. Working in tandem with New Zealand Diving, Hawere is capable of taking clients on adventures to the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, allowing them to access the Poor Knights, Mokohinau, Hen and Chicks, and Great and Little Barrier Islands for periods of up to a week. Her fitout includes a spacious interior, bunk-style accommodation, a large galley, bathroom with hot shower, and crew cabins. For Bennett, the recreational market has presented a unique challenge.
“We are promoting the hire of the vessel to all dive centres and clubs across the country, as well as tour operators,” he says. “The Hawere, a vessel rich in local history, will be available to everyone, and help expose visitors to the beauty of the Hauraki Gulf.”
It is rare for one vessel to prove so adaptable, and rarer still for one to stimulate such sea changes as the ones Hawere seems tipped to provide for the local industry. Since Hawere entered their care, NZ Oceanic Charters have expanded their team. The skipper, Wayne Taylor, will be joined by interns from local colleges as they start to forge their careers on the waters of Aotearoa. The internship programme, created by NZ Oceanic and New Zealand Diving, helps train and qualify two local students as deck crew, with this year’s recipients being Wyatt Collins and Kael Marsh, both hailing from Rodney College.
“Such an opportunity will allow them to participate in a wide range of work that equips them with essential industry experience,” Bennett says.
Beginning with the history of the island from which it took its name and echoing through to many long years of research and exploration within the Mahurangi region, Hawere’s history is a fabled one, and one which seems set to enter a bright new chapter under the ownership of NZ Oceanic Charters.
