Writing about resilience, belonging, and the people who move the world’s trade.
A memoir with Fremantle Press, a renowned independent Australian publisher, scheduled for 2027.
Master Mariner Class 1·GAICD·FICS·Perth, Western Australia
Occasional notes on shipping, its people, and the book. Subscribers hear the title and the release date before anyone else, and go into the draw for a signed copy.
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My life has been shaped by movement. I was born in India, lived in Yemen and Ukraine, built a life in New Zealand, and settled in Perth, Western Australia. I am a Master Mariner. I am Chief Maritime Officer at Blue Visby, and before that I co-founded a marine consultancy and grew it to more than seventy people across five countries. I am a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers.
I write about resilience, belonging, and the people who move the world’s trade. My memoir will be published by Fremantle Press in 2027.
03
The Book
A memoir with Fremantle Press
Munaf’s book will be published by Fremantle Press in 2027. It is a memoir. The title will be revealed closer to publication.
Fremantle Press is an independent publisher giving voice to Western Australian writers and bringing their stories to the world. Since 1976 it has published more than a thousand titles and launched the careers of award-winning and bestselling storytellers.
People who know Munaf from the maritime world know one part of the story. The rest is in this book. It is about the doors that close, the doors that open, and the work it takes in between. Anyone who has stood in front of a door that is firmly closed will recognise it.
I speak about what it takes to keep going when every answer is no, and about the people who move most of the world’s trade.
Speaking to port authorities and industry leaders, 2025
Some of what I speak about is drawn from shipping, because that is where I have spent my working life. The rest is not about shipping at all. It is about starting again in a new country, about being the person in the room who does not fit the usual profile, and about how people keep going when everything familiar is gone.
A seafarer’s worth gets reduced to whether they passed the last audit. The people who do this work should feel pride in it. Most of them end an inspection feeling relieved instead.
iWhen the answer is always noWhat keeps a person going through years of being turned down, and what that costs
iiBelonging somewhere newWhat it takes to build a life in a country that was not expecting you
iiiThe long way inIndia, Yemen, Ukraine, then ships. What that route teaches about leading people whose path was nothing like yours
ivLeading from what you believeHow faith shapes decisions in an industry that rarely talks about it
vBeyond the checklistInspection tells you a great deal about a ship and very little about the people on it. The finding travels ashore, the story behind it does not.
It suits conference keynotes, panels, industry association events, community and school talks, and internal leadership sessions. Available for events in Australia and internationally. Tell me the audience, the date and the length, and I will tell you honestly whether I am the right person for it.
