Member Q&A: Steve Lister on a ‘lifelong passion for ship repair’

Decades of dedication to ship repair and a key role as Fleet Manager for Anzac Class Frigates led to a New Zealand Defence Force Commendation in July for Steve Lister.

Tell us about your role

I have been a Fleet Manager with Babcock (NZ) for five years, acting as the focal point for relationships between my ships’ leadership teams and a variety of support services and other military and civilian stakeholders ashore, ensuring the ships are maintained and upgraded in accordance with customer requirements.

Based at RNZN Naval Base, Devonport, Auckland, NZ, I am responsible for the RNZN’s two Anzac-Class Frigates, HMNZS Te Kaha and HMNZS Te Mana; both purpose-built warships constructed to the German MEKO 200 design.

Currently both ships are in Canada undergoing surveillance, combat, and self-defence capability upgrades, but even though they are overseas for an extended period of time, they remain my responsibility as far as routine planned and unplanned maintenance goes.

Recently we had to arrange an unplanned dry-docking in Canada for one ship during COVID-19 lockdowns. A typical day for me during this period started by getting up at 2am NZT to get to yard daily meetings. As anyone involved in ship repair will understand, once the ship is on the blocks there are continual lists of additional jobs that must be considered, scoped, priced and arranged with the shipyard.

My role is far-reaching and broad, encompassing everything from assisting with diagnosing engineering faults to the fiscal impacts of ship programme changes and capability upgrades. A critical part of the role is nurturing relationships across the wider Babcock business as well as key defence industry colleagues.                                                              

What has your career path looked like?

I completed a fitting, turning and machining apprenticeship at what was then HMNZ Dockyard in the early 90s. I remember walking around the dockyard and marvelling at the massive shipyard plate rolls, the hydraulic hammers, and engine dynamometers. I found a passion for ship repair that day, starting a hugely rewarding career which to date has spanned 31 years. 

From this trade background, I progressed through estimating roles before focusing on commercial ship repair in roles from project engineer to finally, project manager.  Anyone involved in commercial ship repair will appreciate the various challenges associated with it, and you do adapt to the lifestyle of uncertain work hours and the character-building aspects of dealing with the complexities of the business.  But learning to anticipate each client’s hierarchy of priorities, based on ship type was very rewarding for me and ultimately a key aspect to success for anyone in this role. 

What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the industry?

An emphasis on employee engagement and wellbeing has been one of the most significant changes. 

I’m lucky to work in an environment where there is a sincere appreciation from leadership around wellbeing and mental health. I never thought I’d see the day where on-site yoga classes were offered to all employees in the dockyard!  Accepting that stress and pressure can be dealt with in healthy ways does result in tangible benefit for you and those around you.

Best career advice

Find your passion (yes, it’s a cliché) but I have always been drawn to my next career move in terms of what the job itself offers – whether that was travelling around to visit different ships, forming working relationships with new customers or the opportunity of looking after warships. 

Inevitably, you end up accepting more and more responsibility, which generally does come with material benefit – but the load is lighter if what you are doing excites, engages, and challenges you.

Your unforgettable career highlight…

Undoubtedly the New Zealand Defence Force Commendation this year for my work leading the Babcock bid for the continued management of the dockyard. It was overwhelming to receive this from our customer, and personally very rewarding.

What do you hope for your future career?

Working for a global and technology-driven organisation provides a constantly evolving and exciting future. I plan to continue to work closely with our defence customer and help introduce new capability and capacity to our defence forces. 

Steve Lister IEng IMarEng MIMarEST

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