Keith Thompson
Managing Director | President, Shipping New Zealand
My Shipping career started back in 1986 where I started off as the Shipping Officer for “Dalgety NZ Ltd”, soon after shifting to become the Shipping Manager for “Shipping Enterprises”, training under the well-known Jim Burch whom was a leader in the Agency Business throughout NZ and had a strong relationship with Overseas Operators. During this time, we were NZ General Agents for the NZ Dairy Board and the NZ Kiwifruit Marketing Board along with several other Agencies and Liner Operators. From there I became the local Operations Manager for a Global Agency Company. There I managed a large Team looking after a large variety of Ship types, Liner, Bulk, Conventional Reefer, Tankers, Project, and Cruise just to name a few.
In 2017 the timing was right with the excitement of creating a Port Agency Operation based around a more a personal approach and in doing so building a Partnership rather than just as a Service Provider.
So, in February 2017 Thompson Port Agency Limited was born. With the immediate support of Zespri International and Seatrade NZ Ltd. We have established an office right in the middle of the Port of Tauranga itself so are very handy to all operations. This reflects our strong relationship with the Port of Tauranga who offered our Operation such a prime facility to work from.
As an independent and privately owned Agency we have a great network of other Independent Agencies throughout NZ covering most other NZ ports so we can offer a truly National option for your vessel calls with that personal touch.
Shipping New Zealand
We are members “Shipping New Zealand” (The NZ Association of Shipowners and Agents Inc) is our representative body who communicates with Government Agencies, lobbying for our Industry on all important matters that affect the International Shipping Industry calling NZ. I have been an elected Executive Committee member since 2010 holding portfolios for Training, Immigration and Health.
This Year (2020) I have been honoured by my peers in being appointed to the Position of President for Shipping New Zealand, which is a great honour and a position I hold with great pride and responsibility. With the arrival of Covid into our World the responsibility to ensure the safety and well being of not only our Members but also Crew Members and all New Zealanders working on the Marine border is paramount. There are challenging times ahead for us all without doubt.
But out of Adversity there becomes opportunities. I hope that now I have introduced Thompson Port Agency Limited to you, that we now have an opportunity of being assistance to you in the near future.
Health & Safety
At Thompson Port Agency Limited (TPA), we insist that safety is our number one priority. We value human life and expect that we will all go home to loved ones at the end of our day in the same way that we arrived at work earlier.
We are committed to a Zero Harm in the workplace and will constantly strive to improve our health and safety performance, with the goal of achieving an incident free workplace. We operate in an extremely hazardous environment, where a moment’s complacency can be fatal. Whilst we will have all instructions, procedures, Safety equipment in place for our Staff and Operation, we do expect everyone to take personal accountability for safety. Common sense should apply at all times.
Health & Safety is everyone’s responsibility