MLC Ratification and its Impact on Crew Employment

1. Are owners being made adequately aware of these changes?

Yacht owners as a group are generally quite different from owners of other types of commercial vessels whose livelihood is the sea and thus have a plethora of must-read professional publications to keep them current. It is also well known that the superyacht industry seemed to become aware of MLC 2006 very late in the game. Having said that, we are working closely with Owners to get them up to speed.

2. Are the changes that the SEA encumbers going to have significant impact on crew work practices and crew employment?

This would largely depend on the practice of the yachts to date. Certainly hours of work will present challenges for some yachts and for others repatriation is something new. The industry as a whole has been becoming more professional so it could be said that the MLC is certainly less of a shock than it might have been had it arrived ten years ago.

3. Are these changes likely to improve the quality, and longevity of crewmembers' careers?

Interestingly, yacht crew have always seemed to be very content with the industry as a job, if not a lifelong career, with many seeing it not as their long-term future but an exciting and lucrative first job. In an ironic way though, the MLC, by making the employment status of crew members more easily known to the tax authorities means that yacht crew now need to make even more sure that their tax, benefits and social security affairs are regularised.

4. Do you foresee these changes having a negative impact on the enjoyment of superyacht owners?

For some owners this may smack of “organised labour” and “union bosses” and in general it’s a challenge to make the concept of more regulation mesh with the industry ethos of “fun”. And undoubtedly this will be used as the “last straw” reason an Owner sells the yacht and buys another country house or horse farm. But if the Owner has the right advisors who do their job correctly they might not even notice MLC 2006.

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Grant Atchison – Director, Moore Stephens Trust Company Limited

Moore Stephens Isle of Man is an independent member firm of Moore Stephens International Limited. Moore Stephens International Limited is regarded as one of the world's leading accounting and consulting networks with 624 member and correspondent offices in some 101 countries.

Moore Stephens Trust Company Limited is a company incorporated in the Isle of Man No. 081489C and licensed by the Financial Supervision Commission of the Isle of Man. To learn more about our yachting and aviation services please contact me on +44 (0) 1624 662020, grant.atchison@msiom.com, skype ‘grant.atchison.msiom’ or visit our websites www.msy.im and www.msair.im