Mapu Jr Tapuai remembers sitting with his father in Samoa, sheltering under a coconut tree and sipping kava. It was his 21st birthday and the pair spoke about the future and their shared passion for the sea.
“My father is the boss,” says Tapuai. “He is somebody that I look up to. I remember when I was six or seven, he would take me on the inter-island services he captained. I wanted to be like him.”
While Tapuai’s father supported his son’s aspirations to be like him, he wanted more for him. He wanted his son to be at the helm of ships that could cross the world’s oceans.
To achieve this, Tapuai would need to become a Master Mariner, the highest level of certification a mariner can obtain.
Tapuai knew the end goal, but there was work to do. To give him opportunities, Tapuai’s family sent him to New Zealand to attend high school at 14. This set him up for marine school in Samoa, where he would begin his training in earnest.
From there he worked on local ferries in Samoa, which soon led to jobs on container ships and opportunities as an able seaman. Tapuai also gained experience in Samoa and New Zealand in warehouse logistics, customer service and administration.
Along the way, he married, settled in New Zealand, and had children of his own, further cementing his drive to achieve his father’s hope.
“When you have kids, you want to better yourself,” Tapuai says. “You want to provide a good life for them, a better life for them because you won’t always be there for them one day.”
After accumulating enough seafaring experience, Tapuai had everything he needed to become a Master Mariner. But one exam stood in his way. Under the weight of expectation, he took the rigorous maritime licensing exam, which probed his mastery of navigation, ship operations and his ability to take overall command of a vessel. He passed.
“When I got my masters … I was so proud. Not only for me, but for my father. I promised my old man that I would. Taking my first command as captain … it was very special. It’s a big achievement.”
For the majority of his career Tapuai worked on vessels based in Australia where the work was plentiful. But after reading an article about NIWA, he set his sights on a new goal and a new ship – NIWA’s flagship research vessel, RV Tangaroa.
“At the time I was working offshore in Australia. I was earning a lot of money, but I was talking to my wife about it and she knew how much I wanted this role, so she encouraged me to go for it.”
Late last year Tapuai took the helm of New Zealand’s only deepsea research vessel. In doing so, he became the first person from the wider Pacific to take the helm.
Stepping aboard was a special moment for Tapuai. “I still feel goosebumps every time I go back to join the ship. I still can’t believe it. I pinch myself every time.”
Since taking on the leadership role, Tapuai has taken the ship as far as the Kermadec Islands. But when he was given the opportunity to take it further south, as far as south goes, he took it.
Over the summer, Tapuai led 38 crew and scientists to Antarctic waters to research the impacts of climate change on Antarctica’s Ross Sea, and the impacts of a changing Ross Sea on the rest of the globe.
“Operating in Antarctica is extreme. It comes with challenges with equipment, navigation and in terms of decision making as well. But we had a good team with experience in the area.
“To see the continent of Antarctica, it was such an amazing experience. Words and photos do not do it justice. It was an unreal experience and one that I will cherish as a mariner.”
Tapuai says the experience transformed his appreciation of the ocean as more than a way to make a living and provide for his family.
“Seeing the dedication of the scientists and the work they were doing, I was just in awe and could not be any prouder to be a part of it. I look at the ocean with so much respect and gratitude knowing the data we collected from Antarctic waters will help in making good decisions for future generations.”
The team were able to complete all their objectives, but a late reversal of their voyage track to avoid sea ice in the north, tested the agility of Tapuai and his crew.
“The best moment for me is when we reached the furthest point south after adjusting the plan,” says Tapuai. “To be able to collect those samples and recover the moorings was an overwhelming experience for me. I was all in and wanted to make sure that it was a successful voyage.”