Waypoints… POLE STAR MARITIME ,LLC

Steve Hadik and Donald Ansley formed Pole Star Maritime in an old Fire House loft in Newport RI back around 1992. As two experienced New England boat builders and marine joiners, they combined their wide ranging experience in building and restoring some of the world’s finest yachts. With cross over experience with military and commercial craft, they provided project management and general contract and consultancy services direct to owners and builders. After a series of new build and refit projects in and around New England such as WALLYGATOR, BOMERANG and SHAMROCK-V along with ongoing service projects on other custom yachts in the area, Donald and Steve folded themselves into the management team at Intermarine-USA in Savannah GA.

Intermarine-Savannah was the US entity of Intermrine-SpA headquartered in Sarzana, Italy and reknown for building the worlds largest commercial composite vessels at the time including the Osprey Minehunter series for US Navy and NATO. Intermarine-USA turned out over 12 Superyachts ranging from 95’-145’ with exterior styling and interiors that set a new standard of excellence in terms of low noise and perfection in fit and finish.

At Intermarine, Steve was responsible for integration of the engineered acoustic materials package and outfitting the interiors with in-house and subcontract furniture fabricators and installers. Steve worked closely with Van Cappellen Consultancy in Holland, who themselves had developed a reputation for designing the world quietest yachts in Europe and Far East. Van Cappellen together with ATN, Italy, Louis DeBasto Design and the in house Intermarine design team delivered a completely integrated turn-key joiner package from detail design through turn-key delivery. Coordinating the interior joiner package entirely through offsite contractors was then a new concept to US Yacht building. Now considered standard practice in USA, the concept of project integration through sub-contract management brings the best talent to the project and allows yacht builders the ability to streamline the build cycle with multiple builds ongoing, compressed delivery timing and wide open options for owner selections.

Donald remained with Intermarine as the “last guy to turn off the lights” while Steve went off earlier to transform Pole Star Maritime into a rep consortium and manufacturing business providing Specialty Marine Material and Equipment aimed at the US Superyacht builders and outfitters.

For the past 15 years, Steve has developed Pole Star Maritime into lively portal of technical deliveries to US and Canadian yacht, commercial and military builders. Pole Star Maritime remains centered around the design, fabrication and integration of Thermal/Acoustic/Fire Protection and Interior Joiner solutions in addition to equipment solutions for Noise and Vibration Control such as fully engineered and integrated propulsion packages and resilient mountings.

Much of what is now considered mainstream in US yacht building in terms of acoustic treatments integrated into the joiner package, low noise propulsion, thermal/acoustic coatings and lightweight fire protection systems was introduced by Pole Star Maritime from our European and US supply partners. Names like Trinity Yachts, Burger Boat Company, Palmer Johnson Yachts, Northern Marine, Townsend Bay Maine, Westport Shipyard, Lyman Morse and a host of others are all past and current customers.

In 2008, Pole Star Maritime sold its NVT product range and fabrication facilities to Donovan Marine ( New Orleans LA) and remains active in market management for many complementary materials and equipment solutions. Pole Star Maritime works mainly as contract managers, product development specialists and market makers for high quality marine technical solutions.

Since 2009, Pole Star Maritime has entered into the Offshore Energy market though its relationship with companies such as Van Dam BV, Rockwool and Alvedoor. In response to our concern for crew safety and protection of personnel from Fire, Blast and EM radiation, Pole Star Maritime now provides extreme heavy duty blast and fire protection curtain wall and closure systems to Offshore Oil, Gas and Wind projects throughout USA and Canada.