Published: Monday, 31 August 2026
Paul Massie started at Lyttelton Port Company at 17 as an apprentice plumber with a toolbag. Forty years on, he is a tugmaster, at the helm of the vessels that guide ships safely in and out of Lyttelton.
“If you’d told me when I was a plumber in the 1990s that one day I’d be skipper on the tugs, I would’ve laughed at you,” he says.
The Port has never been far away. Paul grew up in Cass Bay and went to school in Lyttelton, and both his parents worked at LPC – his father in the Lyttelton Container Terminal and his mother supporting operations from the office.
His early years on the job took him almost everywhere. He worked as a plumber through the transition from the Lyttelton Harbour Board to Lyttelton Port Company, and in between, he relieved at the Dry Dock, worked on the pilot launch and picked up weekend shifts lashing containers.
“Being a plumber was quite good because you knew everyone and worked in all parts of the Port,” he says. “It gave me a really good understanding of how the place operates.”
The move that changed his career came from family. His cousin, pilot John Clarke, suggested he apply for a deckhand role on the pilot launch.
“I never thought I’d change departments or careers, but it appealed to me.”
Paul joined the marine team in 2000 and gained his launch master’s qualification in Nelson. After time on the pilot boat, he moved across to the tugs, which remain one of his proudest achievements.
“Getting signed off as a tugmaster was a big highlight for me.”
It is demanding work. Lyttelton’s two tugs, Piaka and Blackadder, support around 1,800 ship movements a year, holding vessels steady as they come alongside in all weathers.
Away from the water, Paul is still close to it. He is a long-time Coast to Coast competitor and spends many hours training around Lyttelton.
Much has changed at LPC over 40 years. What has not changed, Paul says, is his respect for the people he works alongside.
“There are some incredibly talented people working here. When you see what people do, especially in tough conditions, you realise just how much skill their job requires.”
And after all that time, it is the people who have kept him here.
“It’s never felt like just a job. This place is part of my community, and the people I work with are good mates.”