"When I was a child we used to spend all our holidays in Aramoana, at the entrance to Otago Harbour. We watched the ships going backwards and forwards, and we puttered around and did a bit of fishing – it was just groovy and I loved it.

"After I left school I started driving things – whether they were on wheels or tracks or they floated, but it was the sea I really liked. I ran trawlers out of Otago, and the sea was just magic some days: Tangaroa [god of the sea], the birds, the sun, the sky. There’s a bit of poetry out there."

"I have a lot of respect for tugs. They are not that easy to drive – with a joystick control similar to a digger – but I love everything about being on a tug. You have to take into account so many variables when you are moving large ships around in all weather conditions. You have to be able to react quickly, have very good communication with your crew and the pilot on board the ship, and see the big picture.

"Pushing ships in and out of harbour is a bit like a chess game – you have to see several moves ahead."

"There’s a lot that can go wrong with pushing and pulling those ships around, so at times I feel I could be in danger. Like in the middle of the night when there’s a 40,000-tonne ship bearing down at 10 knots on your 200-tonne tug. You’ve got the pointy end coming at you, the wind is starting to blow, and you have to tie up to the ship.

"As the skipper you are always thinking about  the safety of your crew and vessel, as well as the ships you are pushing."

"Scrubbing all the grease out of the bilges – that’s the bottom of the tug under the engine room. It’s worse with the older tugs, you have to get in there with the detergent, and it takes a couple of days.

"But that only happens once a year, and working on the tugs is a fantastic job. We work with big gear, pushing big ships in demanding conditions, and after every job done there is a deep feeling of satisfaction."