Claire Blake started her career with Serco in 2002 as a finance assistant – so what led her to be a Moorings Superintendent today?
“I worked on various vessels, and particularly the workboat SD Tilly over the years as a deck hand and in 2018 I was given the opportunity to gain my Yachtmaster qualification which helped me to secure a permanent position as a Boatmaster on the SD Assist and SD Engineer.”
Fast forward a few years and Claire now manages a team of 15 people in the UK who specialise in Moorings located in Plymouth, Portsmouth, and Scotland.
"I maintain oversight of the moorings programme of 300 Navigational marks and moorings and monitor the progress of the programme delivery by our primary sub-contractor and the SD Navigator.”
Claire has responsibility for the Moorings section of the Continued Provision of Marine Services (CPMS) contract including safety, compliance, risk management, people engagement, finances, stakeholder and sub-contractor management as well as business development.
Health and Safety is essential in moorings due to the nature of the work such as hazard awareness, situational awareness, snap back zones, man overboard, and crush injuries. Having vessel operating training, procedures and risk assessments in place ensures that tasks are carried out in a safe way to minimise risks.
Claire believes this is a team effort. "Building trust within your team is essential, it provides a sense of safety. Everyone is responsible for health and safety, of themselves as well as each other."