OUR PEOPLE

Adam Brancher
Our Managing Director and Principal Marine Surveyor. Based in Hobart Tasmania covering all Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Adam first got his sea-legs on Arbella his family’s 36’ wooden yawl based on the eastern seaboard of America. After life in the military and a variety of sea-going jobs around the Indian Ocean, he attended…

Peter Keyes
Senior Surveyor Peter Keyes joined us on 1 May 2017 on the day he left his role as GM Commercial Vessels at Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST). Very well known locally and across Australia and internationally we are delighted that he has chosen to join Kedge. A shipwright by trade, and having served in Australia’s…

Chris Wells
Based in Hobart, Tasmania Chris is a Ship and Engineer Surveyor of more than 40 years experience both in Private Practice and as a Non Exclusive Surveyor to Lloyds Register, Germanischer Lloyd, American Bureau of Shipping and Bureau Veritas, as well as for the last 20 years as a Marine Surveyor for Marine and Safety…

Murray Isles
Based in Hobart, Tasmania AMSA Accredited Surveyor (ID 127717) of plans, stability and loadlines, Murray has been designing powered and sailing vessels in timber, metal, fibreglass, ferro-cement and polypropylene for over thirty years. Since 1990 Murray has lived and worked in Tasmania and has been extensively involved in all areas of the aquaculture industry of…

Michael Hunn
Based in Hobart, Tasmania Mike has designed numerous craft and has a well deserved reputation as a practical hands-on Naval Architect. Mike is probably the most experienced naval architect in using the NSCV in Australia- probably because of the early adoption of it without alteration by Tasmania. A former MAST senior NA, his experience is…

Nirman Jayarathne
Nirman Jayarathne is an experienced naval architect and a Chartered Engineer with a demonstrated history of working in the maritime industry since 2006. He is skilled in naval architecture, management of ship building projects, research, ship management, and university lecturing. He is currently at the final stage of his PhD at the Australian Maritime College.…

Apsara Abeysiriwardhane
Apsara Abeysiriwardhane has over ten years of experience as a naval architect and a university lecturer. She worked for Aries Marine LLC, which is one of the largest ship design firms with the headquarters in the United Arab Emirates and branches all over the world. In 2012 she joined as a lecturer at the General…

Peter Harris
Based in Devonport, North Tasmania When not working as a Marine Surveyor I work as a towage engineer based in Devonport. I started as an apprentice Fitter & Machinist at Garden Island Naval Dockyard, Sydney and studied marine engineering at night school. I then spent three years as a scientific/mechanical officer on the government research…

Matthew Radford
Matt is a trainee Marine Surveyor with Kedge Pty Ltd as well as running his own southern rock lobster fishing vessel in Tasmania. Starting out as an apprentice fitter and turner he then followed the family tradition and went to sea as a fisherman in 1999. In 2006 after running a vessel engaged in the Basslink…

David Peberdy
David started his association with the sea as a marine engineer cadet with the ANL in 1981 and, until recently, has followed a career as an engineer in the Australian shipping and oil and gas industries. Working on many international and coastal vessels, FPSOs and, most recently, oil rig supply and anchor handling vessels. With…

Bill La Vars
Based in Adelaide covering South Australia (Adelaide, River Murray, the South East and Port Lincoln) and the West Coast. I did my apprenticeship with Adelaide Steamship in their shipyard at Port Adelaide as marine fitter and turner before going away to sea as a marine engineer. Over the years sailing around the world on different…