Films part of Seawork's role

By PAULA OLIVER

Bill Day, who used to be on first name terms with a court bailiff, now enjoys the same relationship with famous film director Steven Spielberg.

It's been a rapid rise for the Wellington owner of marine contracting company Seaworks, which lays undersea cables and inspects oil rigs in exotic locations like the Persian Gulf, Western Africa and Hawaii.

Now, when Mr Day's sizeable team of Kiwis need a change, then the more glamorous task of salvaging sunken cruise liners or marine managing Spielberg movies can call.

As the latest and most impressive member of his $35 million fleet now heads towards its home port in New Zealand, he says it brings with it the potential for Seaworks to exploit the telecommunications industry's demand for more bandwidth, and subsequently, more undersea cables.

He says his company's growth from its humble beginnings in 1979 is starting to get a little scary, but with passion, persistence and a healthy dose of luck, he is looking to continue to make the most of his talents.

"Like any entrepreneur I've got a bit of a history of failure, and I was on first name terms with the bailiff at one stage.

"But something above the shoulders is wired a little differently, and I've been persistent enough to keep going and try again."

He began his marine career as a 21-year-old scuba diving instructor, who had a good relationship with the owner of his local dive shop. Together they were asked to do odd commercial jobs for people, and were eventually asked by Electricorp to do some work on one of its undersea cables. But there was a catch. To do the job the pair needed a recompression chamber, and a bit of luck.

"We heard of this ship called the Little Mermaid, which a company had spent $1.1 million building, but it didn't go. It had a recompression chamber because it had been built to salvage, but it went [at] less than a knot."

His offer of $80,000 was gratefully accepted by the owners of the vessel. The Little Mermaid was launched, the job completed, a reputation gained, and he was on his way.

Business grew during the 1980s with jobs inspecting oil rig sites and salvaging oil from the sunken Russian cruise liner Mikhael Lermontov.

He saw the potential in the business when his partner chose to drop out in the early 1990s, so then took full control of Seaworks.

"People were ringing and asking if I could do things like gravity coring, and I'd say yes and then find out what it was and how to do it.

"But I always found a way, and dealing with the person who makes the final decision was, and still is, very attractive to customers."

The big break came with a $6 million contract in 1992 to survey Transpower's Cook Strait cable.

He says overseas companies were flying Lear jets into Wellington to take a shot at the tender, so he went out and brought a new tie at Hallensteins.

"The job needed robots, and we thought we could do it with a little catamaran to support them."

"We didn't have the boat, and many thought the idea was stupid, but with enthusiasm, passion and persistence we convinced them to give us a go."

The tender was awarded on the proviso of a half million dollar deposit, which he scraped together. The innovative boat, Seaworker, was born, and it still continues to outperform ships five times its size in Asia and Iran.

Following the contract's completion, Seaworks gained the right to supply support vessels for the Maui gasfield. Offices have also been opened in Dubai and Tehran.

He says having a track record has been a key to success, as he is now approached for a large portion of the work he does.

"I do travel to get contracts, but my job now is to foster a culture within the company to keep it growing, and push innovation. Ideas come from the coalface, and I've worked hard at the culture to encourage and respect them."

His confidence in the 130 long-serving, nearly exclusively Kiwi staff, was never more obvious than in a recent African job. Inspections of gas towers in the zone had always required the gas to be shut down, costing the owner millions of dollars. But his staff devised a way to complete the job with the gas still flaming - using a small boat that could get up close, using a water curtain to protect the men.

"We were able to charge much more than anyone else for the service, because it was the best way for the gas tower company.

"That's the kind of innovation I want to foster, because it's what made us successful."

It's also helped get WestpacTrust to to support his latest venture, a $26 million cable laying vessel that he says will revolutionise the business.

He says Seaworks has evolved from a diving company, to a vessel supplier, and then on to becoming a marine contractor that charters vessels when its own fleet is busy.



He has already secured a contract for the new ship, laying a cable the length of the country for Telstra Saturn.

The Searanger, complete with $4 million plough to bury cables under the seabed, will help diversify Seawork's operations once again.

It's a long journey for this ship, as it has been for Mr Day and Seaworks, who were contracted as marine managers for the Spielberg movie Castaway.

What's the most fun he's had?

He says diving the Mikhael Lermontov was, but he also ranks the marine management role for Steven Spielberg.

"It's not our core business, and we just transported bits of the set and cast around, but it was good fun."