Megayacht Manning and Education
By Mark Fry

As published in Captain's Log
January 2001

Twenty-two years ago I was sitting enjoying the view overlooking the harbour in Vancouver Canada, when I struck up a conversation with a gentleman sitting next to me. I am sure the rest of the story sounds familiar; by the end of the evening I had secured myself a job as deckhand aboard a 92’ yacht - one of the largest privately owned yachts in the world at that time. That gentleman changed my life forever. I ventured forth for a career on the high seas into an industry that I never knew existed – Professional Yachting!

Times have changed, crisp white uniforms tailored on well-trained and eloquent Captains, and technologies have overtaken all aspects of the industry.  The many changes have been for the better.  GPS didn’t exist and we had to know how to navigate using the stars and the sun.   In those days no credentials were required to drive these yachts, unlike today!

The Megayacht industry has seen explosive growth over the past 10 years.  There are now thousands of yachts over 24 meters plying the world’s oceans. The demand for new builds has pushed project commencement out 2-4 years, and with the development of these new builds, so too has come the development for new standards of construction, safety procedures, and manning regulations. Of the top 200 largest yachts in the world the smallest is 178’ and the largest over 450’. They truly have become ships.

The British Governments regulating body for maritime affaires is the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).  They are the appointed governing body responsible for the issuance of Certificates of Competency (C.O.C) and Certificates of Equivalent Competency (CEC), to all mariners wishing to be crewmembers aboard Red Ensign vessels.  With a large portion of the worlds yachts registered as Red Ensign Vessels; the MCA is in the forefront of all these new developments. Previous U.K. legislation was mainly developed towards merchant shipping which proved impractical to both apply and enforce.  Captains and Engineers with years of sea service were unable to fulfill the necessary requirements for certificates of Competency due to their lack of Merchant vessel sea time and experience.  Consequently on Dec.16th 1998 the British Parliament enacted into law the ‘Code of Practice for Commercial Yachts & Sail Training vessels’.

The M.C.A. was the first organization to put in place a set of standards for Megayachts, the “Code of Practice” for commercial yachts. This has become the industry’s Bible and many countries are now adopting this Code in some form or another. The Bahamas and the Marshall Islands (not Red Ensigns group countries) have embraced the code almost in its entirety, as are many of the EU countries.

One of the sub-committees of the United Nations is the International Maritime Organization (I.M.O.).  In 1978 the IMO developed a convention known as the Standards of Training Certification and Watch Keeping for Seafarers (S.T.C.W.).  In 1995 the standards were updated and new regulations were agreed upon.  The U.K. government has taken an active and aggressive role in assuring the directives of the International Maritime Organization are fulfilled. Certain elements were impossible to put into effect in such a short time.  Consequently a date of February 1, 2002 was agreed upon for the remaining elements.  It is by this date that the signatories to this convention, including the British Government and thus the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) required all Red Ensign vessels to become fully compliant.  Exempt from this convention are crewmembers on warships, government vessels, fishing vessels, recreational vessels, and wooden ships of primitive build.

Over the past years, the Code of  Practice has been reviewed by an M.C.A. Sub committee on Manning, consisting of industry leaders and teaching establishments.  Their goal has been to update the code and bring it into line with S.T.C.W. 95’ compliance. As of Feb.1st 2002 you will no longer be able to complete your Class 4 modules from start to finish in 16 weeks. The “Master of Yachts” Certificates of Competency will follow a very specific five year career path, starting with an Officer of the Watch Certificate and moving on to Mate and then Master. (Refer to the manning chart included in this article.)  The new program encompasses two Oral Examinations, first to be accredited as an ‘Officer of the Watch”, and the second to complete your Certificate of Competency  and be accredited as a Master of Yachts. This Certificate of Competency (COC) is restricted to yachts and cannot be crossed into the Merchant Navy program for bulk carriers or other merchant navy vessels.

In keeping with STCW ’95, and in a continued effort to ensure a high quality of training and education, the candidate will be issued a training task book.  This task book will outline a series of responsibilities the candidate will have to fulfill under the watchful eye of his Captain, or Senior Officer. Consequently Captains and Senior Officers are becoming an integral part of the training program.  They are now tasked with the responsibility of passing on their skills and knowledge to their crew, and signing crewmembers task books to confirm levels of competency as they progress throughout their training.   The official inclusion of the Captain as a member of the education process will not only make for better teamwork aboard, but increase safety standards on yachts world wide.

Entry requirement into the coveted Class 4 CE (Yachts), now called Master of Yachts is the Yachtmaster® Offshore Certificate.  The only MCA acceptable professional Yachtmaster Courses in the world are available in both the U.S.A. and the Mediterranean through International Yachtmaster® Training (IYT) with schools in Ft. Lauderdale and Palma, Spain.  An alternative entry is an RYA Yachtmaster certificate, and this certificate must be commercially endorsed.  The IYT Yachtmaster® Offshore, being a professional accreditation, requires and includes full completion of all basic STCW ’95 requirements with respect to Fire Training, First Aid, Sea Survival, and Social Responsibilities.

The realization that February 1, 2002 is rapidly approaching has begun to sink in to many non-certificated professional yachtsmen.  Candidates who wish to complete their Class 4 under the current program must have completed the Yachtmaster Offshore and Yachtmaster Ocean, Navigation and Radar, and three further modules of the remaining six.  These candidates will have another 16 months from February 2002 to finish up the remaining three modules and sit their Oral Exam. With the new program being five years of duration and a total of 16 courses, classes are filling quickly by concerned yachtsman who wish to either remain employed, or gain entry to the Master of Yachts program under the current, and much shorter training program.

On many of an occasion I have listened to a yacht Owner complain about finding a Captain for his yacht that he not only enjoyed the company of, but who was in fact competent.  In 1997, now ready to ‘swallow the anchor’. I started International Yachtmaster Training.  At first I just wanted to pass on my years of experience to the ‘new guys’ coming into our industry, and find a way to stay home!  It was not long before both Captains and the regulating authorities noticed our programs and IYT was very quickly becoming the standard internationally for Professional Yachtsman’s training.

I believe the Manning changes that are currently taking place are essential to the on- going professionalism and safety of the ever-expanding yachting industry.   I am certain that in the not to distant future I will sit, overlooking Ft. Lauderdale Harbour, and watch a 92 foot yacht go by, with “Tender to …..” stenciled on her stern!

Mark Fry

For further information on the Yachtmaster Program or other professional Yachtsmen training, including engineering, contact IYT in Ft. Lauderdale at +1 (954) 779-7764 info@yachtmaster.com