Issues Working in the Yachting Industry

The world of Luxury Yachting may seem like an exciting and unusual career to step into however, it’s not without its troubles. We explore the current issues that crew may face when working aboard luxury yachting vessels and being hired within the industry.

The main difference from most careers is that the life of a crew member is very seasonal and can be quite transient from time to time.

The two main yachting seasons are in Summer (May-October) and Winter (November-April), with the short times in between for being in ports for repair and recouperation.

 Not all yachts will cruise for both seasons either and may need to stay within shipyards for extended period maintenance.

Often for positions such as a Steward(ess) or a Deckhand, if won’t be that you’ll automatically be taken on for the Winter if you were hired for the Summer season.

Permanent contracts are usually given to more experienced crew members or for positions such as Engineers and Captains.

On top of yachting work being seasonal, there’s the added factor of safety - both on board and with finding work.

Naturally, working on a vessel that moves on water can be quite risky in itself. Combine this with inadequate training however and it spells trouble.

Yachting organisation Nautilus International conducted a survey back in October 2025 and found that over 20% of the respondents didn’t feel adequately trained or prepared to handle all of the emergency duties and shockingly, nearly one quarter had never participated in a drill.

For those that had participated in drills, crew found that the run-throughs were not reflective of the dire situations (such as a nighttime fire) that could happen aboard a yacht, so it dampened their confidence.

Issues like this, coupled with crews facing long hours of work and doing risky manual tasks that some are not properly trained for is a recipe for disaster.

Unfortunately, not all safety issues are when you’re employed – with the rise of generative AI in use, there have been reports of recruitment scams online and through telephone; often asking for things like an “entry payment” for new crew (often referred to as Green crew).

With charter yachts often being a luxury most of us can’t afford, it sometimes comes with things like discrimination towards crew.

Have a search online and you’ll find many accounts of crew being hired due to being better looking than another candidate or being from “a more preferable country”.

There’s unfortunately many tales of bullying, racism and misogyny from former crew members who have experienced a whole host of discrimination

...and some who have been threatened with dismissal when reporting it.

While a little late for the industry, a free helpline was created by the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) back in 2020 to aid individuals on issues they face while working on vessels or in the yachting industry.

So far, they’ve helped an excess of 1500 people. ISWAN state that on top of issues like harassment and bullying, the other most reported concern among crew and seafarers is unpaid wages.

No matter how resilient you may think you are as an individual, if you’re unfortunate enough to deal with a multitude of problems like those above, it’s going to take its toll.

Depression is not uncommon amongst crew members - as sleeping meagre hours for long stints off-shore or away from home in confined, windowless spaces will affect most if not all after a while.

 Especially if you’re dealing with one of the many issues we’ve highlighted in this article.

Luckily, it’s not all doom and gloom. With shows such as “Below Deck” and more and more content creators putting Luxury Yachting in the limelight, there have been some uplifting changes being made to help support yacht owners and crew alike.

The Professional Yachting Association (PYA) have been working with policymakers to improve safety & welfare legislation globally.

ISWAN helpline: www.iswan.org.uk/yachtcrewhelp