The executive officer of the New Zealand Maritime Transport Association, Alan Moore, who is based in Auckland, said the country's 12-year-old safe ship management rules needed tweaking, not wholesale and potentially costly change.
"There are quite a few issues there, don't get me wrong, but the answer isn't to throw the baby out with the bath water," Mr Moore, who is also a director of marine surveying, auditing and consultancy company Maritime Management Services, said.
"We don't believe we have a full idea of the cost and we don't know how quality will be controlled or whether this sort of change will make things safer.
For all we know, everyone could be paying hundreds more."
Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) has proposed a suite of changes to improve what it says is a complicated safe ship management system which research has shown has not improved maritime safety.
Now, commercial boats must have appropriate safety systems, and be routinely surveyed and audited by experts from accredited, "safe ship management" companies before they are considered fit for operation.
MNZ's proposed preferred option would let surveyors not associated with a safe ship management company, but who were recognised by MNZ, carry out surveys.
MNZ would conduct the audits.
MNZ maritime services general manager Sharyn Forsyth said the current system was too confusing and complex for many operators, who suggested the organisation was in danger of becoming removed from the industry.
Quality was also an issue.
The proposal would give MNZ closer oversight of survey standards and give operators more flexibility in choosing who would do their surveys.
That should mean quality would improve even as the combined cost of audits and surveys "generally" remained the same, Ms Forsyth said.
But Mr Moore said more than 30 industry players had indicated they did not think the current system needed wholesale change.
They were also concerned MNZ audits would cost more than the current system.
Companies accredited to conduct audits could also be unfairly penalised or even forced to close down, Mr Moore said.
"There are just too many unknowns. We've asked [MNZ] to pause the process and talk, but all we can do is urge people to make a submission to make sure their concerns are heard," Mr Moore said.
Submissions on the proposals close at the end of the month.
MNZ had received 45 submissions by the middle of last week.
