Going global - Success no accident

Yacht Lifeline has become a market leader in providing medical services to the global marine industry. And much of that success has come from following superyachts across the world.

The company was created by two former Special Forces paramedics, who started providing medical training to boaties, then introduced medical kits. They began in early 2000, when the America’s Cup was first raced in Auckland, and the influx of superyachts that followed the Cup here definitely kick-started the company’s growth.

When the Cup left our shores, rather than being complacent, we realised we needed to follow the boats. In the past five years, we’ve taken the business offshore, setting up offices in the United Kingdom and Mallorca.

The company has grown exponentially since, with a huge amount of business from the United Kingdom – about 10 times the volume of our business from New Zealand.

Previously I was the captain on Larry Ellison’s superyacht, Katana, which was in Auckland for the 2003 America’s Cup, so I know how critical it is to have the best medical equipment and systems on board. Part of the safety equipment required on these superyachts are the medical kits which we put on boats, and there are guidelines which determine which drugs must be kept on board in case of a medical emergency.

A boat like Katana would have about 500 different medications on board; doing a stock-take of them would take at least a day. In an emergency, you don’t want to find drugs have expired.

Yacht Lifeline’s on-board medical management system takes care of these issues, synchronising the use of the drugs on board with our central database system. That’s heavily guarded intellectual property, and one of the unique differences we have over our competitors.

Our founders, Brent Palmer and Tony Nicholson, often found themselves in remote conditions like the Middle East, so remote medicine is very much the core of our business. Our clients, captains on vessels, know that subtle differences make our kit an easy choice – like a bone injection gun for intravenous fluids. We don’t claim to be the cheapest, but we strive to provide the best products for saving lives.

We also provide a 24/7 medical assist service, where crew can phone a paramedic or doctor at one of five call centres around the world. From our central database records, the paramedic can tell the crew exactly where the right medication is stored on the vessel, the expiry date of the drug that’s needed, as well as coordinate an evacuation if needed.

It was a natural progression for Yacht Lifeline to expand overseas. We needed to be closer to the major superyacht shipyards and cruising areas. We’ve been adding new facets to the business. Like full medical centres on some of the largest ‘gigayachts’ in the world, as well as providing a highly specialised medical crew placement service of paramedics, nurses or doctors.

In the early days, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise helped us with funding to get where we are globally. Their great support has continued, helping us by opening doors in many countries. We were also a finalist in their 2010 New Zealand International Business Awards.

While there has been a global slowdown, which has even affected the superyacht market, we are still expanding, and exploring new areas. The European side of the business has been a fantastic success – you’ve got to have people there on the ground. That’s one thing you can’t do remotely.

Steven Bates is Chief Executive of Yacht Lifeline, a New Zealand company supplying the high-end superyacht market with comprehensive medical and emergency services.

This column first appeared in the National Business Review on 4 March 2011.