I swing your vessel, correct the magnetic compass and issue a new deviation card. Trailer boats to cruise ships. I've got over 40 years at sea, much of it in command or training others how to command.
I assess the compass and take care of minor repairs, such as removing bubbles. Then we swing the vessel through the cardinal and intercardinal headings and I correct the compass to remove excess deviation. You end up with a new deviation card for the chart table and a Compass Certificate for compliance: MOSS, Flag State and Port State inspections.
Large vessels operating under SOLAS Chapter V Regulation 19 must carry a properly adjusted standard magnetic compass. The standard behind it, ISO 25862:2019, requires adjustment at least once every two years. And sooner than that if any of these happen:
If the surveyor has also raised how the bridge is run, I do navigation assessments and bridge competency training as well.
Maritime Rules Part 45 (Navigational Equipment) sets no fixed calendar for domestic vessels. New Zealand law relies on an error threshold and situational triggers instead. Three categories:
The compass must be swung and adjusted by a recognised compass adjuster whenever deviation exceeds 5 degrees on any heading. To catch that, Part 45 requires the Master to check compass errors at regular intervals. Maritime NZ defines this as checking and logging the deviation at least once per watch, or once on each course steered.
Before the ship's first voyage, the compass must be professionally adjusted by a recognised compass adjuster. It must then be adjusted a second time within two years of that first adjustment.
An adjustment is required immediately after anything that could destabilise the ship's magnetic field: structural alterations or dry-docking, relocating the compass, changes to equipment or fittings near it, a grounding or lightning strike, heavy electrical work on the hull such as arc welding or sand-blasting, a long lay-up, or carrying highly magnetic cargoes.
The total fee depends on where your vessel is and how big it is. The base fee by vessel size:
$450 to $650 NZD. Standard adjustments for small passenger vessels, charter boats, local fishing vessels and recreational boats.
$650 to $950 NZD. Medium commercial vessels.
$1,000 to $1,500 NZD. Large ships and SOLAS-regulated vessels, for example 500 GT and over.
Travel is on top: $1.04 per kilometre, actual flight costs where flying is needed, and travel time at $55 per hour.
Recent jobs: a 34 m expedition yacht in Auckland, a 64 m deep sea fishing vessel in Nelson, a 75,000 ton cruise ship on a Wellington to Napier passage, a 60 m superyacht in Tahiti, and six Cook Strait ferries operated by Interislander and Bluebridge. Smaller coastal and inshore boats too, right down to trailer boats.
On a superyacht? I do a lot of superyacht compass work across New Zealand and the Pacific, fitted around the yacht's programme.
Mark carried out the compass adjustment and swinging for my vessel Wayfinder as part of its certification process. As always, the work was completed efficiently, accurately, and with the utmost professionalism.
For large vessels operating under SOLAS Chapter V Regulation 19, the technical standard ISO 25862:2019 requires adjustment at least once every two years, and sooner after events like dry-docking, equipment changes near the compass, deviations beyond about 5 degrees, or whenever the Master deems it necessary. For NZ domestic vessels under MOSS, Maritime Rules Part 45 sets no fixed calendar: the compass must be professionally adjusted before the first voyage, again within two years, and then whenever deviation exceeds 5 degrees or after events like dry-docking, welding or a grounding. Not sure where you stand? Call me and I will tell you.
Base fee by size: under 20 m, $450 to $650. Medium commercial vessels, 24 m to 45 m and up, $650 to $950. Large and SOLAS vessels, 500 GT and over, $1,000 to $1,500. All NZD. That includes the pre-swing inspection, the swing, the correction, the deviation card and the Compass Certificate. Travel is extra: $1.04 per km, flights at cost, and travel time at $55 per hour.
It is the certificate I issue once the compass has been adjusted. It is required for compliance and is accepted for MOSS and for Flag State and Port State inspections. Every adjustment I do comes with one.
Usually something magnetic has changed on board. Hull repairs, new steelwork, electrical upgrades, or new equipment mounted near the compass are the common ones. Deviations beyond about 5 degrees mean the compass needs adjusting.
Yes. I have adjusted everything from trailer boats to a 75,000 ton cruise ship and the Cook Strait ferries. If it has a magnetic compass, I can swing it.
A corrected compass, a fresh deviation card for the chart table, and a Compass Certificate for compliance: MOSS, Flag State and Port State inspections. Commercial vessels can have a compass survey done as well.
Anywhere in New Zealand, and out into the Pacific for bigger jobs. Recent work includes Auckland, Nelson, Cook Strait, a Wellington to Napier passage, and Tahiti.
Call or email me with the vessel, the port and your timing. I will confirm availability.