Oh buoy: Luxury vessel skipper tosses safety policy overboard

A marine watercraft professional accused of serious misconduct has seen his unfair dismissal application thrown out by the Fair Work Commission after being fired by the owner-operator of a high-end tourism charter service.

A vessel Master V skipper employed by Boundary Lane since 12 May 2023 was dismissed on 10 January 2025 for failing to comply with safety protocols, conduct crew training, prevent business exposure to legal and financial risk, implement emergency procedures, adhere to company policy and be aware of applicable maritime code.

Around the time he was hired, Adam Garnaut was tasked with finalising the Quintessential vessel’s structure, equipment, systems and documentation as part of a survey that would ensure compliance with its jurisdictional requirements.

In October 2023, Boundary Lane engaged a marine surveyor to conduct a survey to progress its Jamaican Ship Registry, as first recommended by Garnaut, who had corresponded with the Maritime Authority of Jamaica. Several defects were identified at the time, which Garnaut attended to.

A survey for a second vessel purchased to expand tourism capacity, the Serendipitous, was conducted in November 2024.

It was not contested that both surveys failed to identify the relevant maritime code for the vessels.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority issued a formal detention notice on 19 December 2024 for numerous deficiencies, including the absence of a valid safety certificate or compliant safety plan.

In addition, allegations of safety deficiencies and negligence arose after head chef Andrew Kadletz reported a lack of safety or emergency training in November 2024, with a resulting skipper meeting allegedly discussing one recent incident concerning the smell of smoke aboard a vessel. Magnus Higgs, general manager, and Peter Medich, managing director of Boundary Lane, both gave evidence that they discovered an absence of formal procedures for training and drills.

At Higgs’ direction, Garnaut conducted a training session, which featured discussions of hypothetical emergency scenarios and responses, without any physical drills or walk-throughs.

Further, Micah Jenner, interior manager and relief captain, was allegedly asked by Garnaut to work a cash, off-the-books charter on another vessel after the Serendipitous had been detained.

Medich’s evidence is that this would have exposed staff members to legal and safety risks, and he furthered that his understanding was that Garnaut sought to profit from a situation emerging from Garnaut’s own initial failures.

A performance review was undertaken by Medich and Higgs in December 2024 regarding Garnaut, concluding that the employee had not met his responsibilities until management intervention and after the issues had occurred.

Garnaut was informed in a meeting on 10 January 2025 with Medich and Higgs that his termination was effective immediately, with the show cause letter claiming “serious lapses in fulfilling key responsibilities … [which] directly contravene safety protocols, emergency procedures, maritime regulation, and the terms of your employment contract”.

According to Fair Work commissioner Pearl Lim, much of the the evidence related to the dismissal was uncontested; however, Garnaut’s testimony during cross-examination was identified as dubious, with Lim noting: “He would evade questions or downplay the events that were not favourable to his case … he went beyond the usual hesitation and nervousness that is commonly seen from witnesses.”

“This affected his credibility.”

In consideration of these matters, Lim referenced Garnaut’s own evidence that he was not aware of the applicable maritime code until an independent marine supervisor, Justin Bentink, was engaged by Boundary Lane. According to Medich, concern about non-compliance for commercial use and possible contradicting advice by Garnaut caused the need for the additional surveyor.

This aligned with the evidence of Higgs.

Lim said: “There is no evidence that Mr Garnaut ever tried to find out prior to December 2024, despite undertaking a number of charters on the vessels.”

In regards to crew training, Lim noted that Garnaut’s statement that he had properly trained the crew was in contrast to his own evidence that he never conducted physical drills, adding: “Mr Garnaut’s conduct went against his explicit contractual obligations to ensure compliance with relevant safety regulation … [and] also posed a serious and imminent risk to the health and safety of the crew and passengers, as well as the reputation of Boundary Lane.”

As such, Lim was satisfied that Medich and Higgs understood Garnaut’s conduct as serious enough to warrant dismissal, and that his evidence supported his employers’ findings

Despite Garnaut suggesting that this was not necessarily a valid reason for dismissal, Lim said: “As I have found that Boundary Lane complied with the Code, it is not necessary for me to consider whether Mr Garnaut’s dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable”.

Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make HR Leader a preferred news source on Google.