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6:00 am, October 29th, 2025 - 22 comments
Categories: open mike -
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Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
Radio NZ on line today is running a Reuters story about an Auckland based company called Maritime Mutual that is providing insurance cover for dark fleet oil tankers running sanctioned oil. The principals of the company are the Rankin family, a family that includes an intrquing name of a son-in- law called Steven Joyce.
He's a crook – always was and always will be.
It's hard to know if it's the Steven Joyce ex NZ MP. That Joyce is married to Suzanne, and I can't find anything about Paul Rankin having a daughter called Suzanne.
This Aug 2024 article about Maritime Mutual says,
I'm not on Linkedin, but ex MP Steven Joyce's public info on Linkedin, doesn't say anything about Maritime Mutual.
It's not the same person. Entirely different middle name….
Oops!
Which doesn't change my opinion of the Steven Joyce I had in mind!
You might want to acquaint yourself with the laws of defamation
Quite.
//
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1992/0105/latest/DLM281234.html
Apologies for not doing a full link but either I or the iPad is completely clueless on doinglinks and won’t let me restart a post halfway through. Back to the story, the name has the same spelling, Steven Joyce, please tell me it is true!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/577151/iran-russia-and-the-new-zealand-insurer-that-kept-their-sanctioned-oil-flowing
Turns out that it's an entirely different Steven Joyce (middle name Paul, rather than Leonard)
https://www.northdata.com/Maritime%20Management%20Administration%20Services%20Ltd%C2%B7,%20St%C2%B7%20Saviour/GG-CMP67711
Thanks Tony. The whole story reflects badly on our reputation as an incorrupt nation. Couldn’t agree with you more on his reputation.
Even though it turns out to be entirely unconnected with Joyce (the ex politician)?
Where does the corruption lie in your opinion….
To be fair, providing maritime insurance for oil smugglers operating in violation of international law is pretty shady stuff, regardless of whether a former senior cabinet minister is involved.
Even more so when there seems to be absolutely no oversight or regulatory response
However, we don't know that it is A) in violation of international maritime law (accusation isn't conviction – and the company has vigorously denied wrongdoing), and B) has NZ as anything other than an accommodation address (certainly the reports are that there is no actual business being run from the NZ 'office'), and C) that there is neither oversight nor regulatory response allowed or applicable from NZ (unless you're aware of data that isn't in the standard news reports)
Realistically, it was only the coincidence of names that intrigued the interest of the commenters. Rather distastefully, IMO.
‘Corruption’ would only apply if there were actually any political connection (in reality, rather than the over-heated imagination of the commenters).
They're a registered business in New Zealand and therefore subject to NZ law and regulation.
This includes compliance with the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2010 and the United Nations Act 1946, which, among other provisions, make it an offence to knowingly provide cover or other services that facilitate a ship or company designated under New Zealand or United Nations sanctions, or that otherwise intentionally assist in the evasion of sanctions.
Even if the breach was not intentional, it may still constitute an offence, as the company would have failed to exercise the due diligence required of an insurer operating under New Zealand law.
We should be far more concerned that a New Zealand company has become embroiled in potential sanctions breaches than with preserving the appearance of civility.
Less corruption, more regulatory failure.
Dear me – more concerned over the possible breach (vigorously denied) of international legislation, than an entirely incorrect attribution made on TS.
Yeah, right.
This was very clearly *only* commented on TS because of the name association.
You’ve lost all sense of perspective when you start tilting at tiny Dutch windmills in souvenir shops.
Well, yes.
The latter is a mistake. The former is, for lack of a better term, a crime.
Let's see how Jones+Bishop's lunatic and outrageous Taranaki seabed mining – that was turned down by the Supreme Court – actually survives being opposed by one of the largest wind power generators in the world in the form of JERA BP.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2025/10/28/seabed-mine-could-produce-devastating-sediment-flows-panel-told/
And NZSuper has had wind and water current flow monitoring in place in this area for many years, in preparation for large scale investment in offshore wind power generation for New Zealand.
Why the fuck would you allow short term seabed destruction against larger investment and longer tern national returns, with actual climate benefits?
I'm very happy to pay my fees to Forest and Bird to resist this one.
Hope this one has a serious smash inside Cabinet.
An $4,363.57/month (bluesky video) example of the insurance model healthcare Rimmer's touting.
Our new health insurance premium feels less like coverage and more like extortion. “Give us everything you’ve got or you die.”
We’re a healthy family, with no chronic illness, no hospital bills stacking up. Yet our “new” premium just jumped to over $3,000 a month for a family of three. Could we scrape it together? Maybe. Should we have to? Hell no.
https://cwebbstudio.substack.com/p/the-new-healthcare-premium-shakedown?
Once you've impoverished people enough so that they can't afford any of the new goods and services you might conceivably produce in future (i.e. what real capitalists are meant to do), then the only means of continuous economic growth is to rob those people of what morsels of wealth they may have already accumulated.
Nowhere near enough countering of the BS being produced about Health by the coalition.
Brown smears enough of himself about the place plus this continued spinning of a US styled health system as being a solution to their financial starvation.
The hits in health are there to be made c'mon opposition how about it.