Yacht Compliance Manager
A yacht compliance manager keeps a management company's fleet legal to operate. You make sure each yacht's safety management system, certificates, crew paperwork and security plans meet the ISM Code, ISPS, MLC 2006 and flag requirements. Most people in the job have spent years at sea as officers or engineers and now want a desk, a steady salary and evenings at home.
The jobWhat fills the day
The work is paperwork with consequences. You keep a calendar of every certificate, survey and audit across the fleet, and you chase anything coming due before it lapses. You write and revise safety management system manuals, review non-conformities raised by captains, and close them out with evidence. You deal with flag states such as the Cayman Islands, Marshall Islands and Malta, and with class societies like Lloyd's Register, DNV and Bureau Veritas. When port state control detains a yacht in Palma or Fort Lauderdale, you are on the phone first.
Size matters. Yachts under 500gt usually work under a lighter regime, often the Large Yacht Code and a simplified SMS. Commercially registered yachts over 500gt need full ISM and ISPS certification, so you plan internal audits, ship security assessments and drills with the captain. Charter yachts bring extra checks from flag and charter licensing. A fleet weighted towards 60m to 100m commercial yachts means more travel, more audits and more contact with the DPA, who is often your line manager.
Hiring managers want sea time. The usual profile is a former chief officer, captain or chief engineer holding an MCA CoC, who knows what an SMS looks like from the bridge and can talk to captains as a peer. Some come from merchant navy superintendent roles. A smaller group arrive from shore careers in quality management or maritime law, and start as compliance coordinators. Offices cluster in Antibes, Monaco, Palma, Southampton, Fort Lauderdale and the Netherlands.
Progression runs towards the DPA and Company Security Officer roles, which carry legal responsibility under ISM and ISPS. From there people move into fleet management, technical management or operations director posts. Some leave to set up as independent auditors or consultants working for flag administrations and smaller management firms. A lead auditor qualification and a solid record of clean flag audits help you move up faster than anything else.
Skills employers look for
- ISM and ISPS Codes
- MLC 2006 compliance
- Internal auditing
- Flag and class liaison
- SMS writing and revision
- Certificate and survey planning
- Clear report writing
A working dayTuesday in an Antibes management office
Check the fleet certificate tracker. A 55m charter yacht's Safety Radio certificate expires in five weeks, so you email the captain and book the surveyor.
Review three non-conformity reports sent in overnight, including a missed enclosed space drill. Agree corrective actions with each captain by video call.
Update the SMS manual after a flag circular on lithium battery storage for water toys. Issue the revision to all affected yachts.
Lunch in the old town with a colleague from the crew department.
Meet the DPA to plan next month's internal ISM and ISPS audits on two yachts wintering in Palma and La Ciotat.
Check MLC paperwork for a new deck crew intake: seafarer employment agreements, ENG1 dates and STCW certificates.
Answer a flag state query on a manning dispensation for a 70m yacht, attaching the CoCs and sea service evidence.
Write up audit notes from last week's visit to Monaco and send the report to the owner's representative.
Finish for the day. No watch, no night call unless a yacht has a port state control problem.
Pay by experienceAnnual salary. Estimates. Bars share one scale.
Shore salaries are taxed, so ex-crew should compare net figures with their old tax-free pay. Expect travel per diems and an annual bonus, plus extra for on-call DPA cover. UK posts in Southampton typically pay GBP 40,000 to 70,000. See the Yacht & Crew Management salary guide for figures from live adverts.
Tickets and visas
Must have
- Seagoing background, ideally an MCA CoC (OOW 3000gt or higher, or engineering Y3+)
- ISM, ISPS and MLC internal auditor course
- Working knowledge of the Large Yacht Code and REG Yacht Code
Gets you hired
- Master 3000gt or Chief Mate 3000gt CoC
- DPA training course
- Company Security Officer course
- ISO 9001 lead auditor
- STCW and ENG1 kept current for vessel visits
Visas
- US B1/B2 for audits on yachts in Florida
Where it leadsA typical career path
Yacht & Crew Management jobsOpen now on SuperyachtRoles.com
Questions crew ask
Do I need to have worked at sea?
Nearly every advert asks for it. Captains take compliance advice more readily from someone who has run drills and held a CoC. Shore candidates with a quality or maritime law background can get in as coordinators, but expect a slower climb.
How much travel is involved?
Plan on visiting yachts for audits several times a month in the Med season, and less in winter. Trips are usually short, a day or two on board in Palma, Antibes or the Caribbean. You will travel less if your company has a separate audit team.
What is the difference between this role and the DPA?
The DPA is a legal post under the ISM Code, with direct access to top management and personal responsibility for the safety system. The compliance manager does much of the daily work behind it. In small firms one person often holds both titles.
Will I earn less than I did at sea?
Often yes, at first, once tax and living costs ashore are counted against tax-free crew pay. What you get back is a permanent contract, regular hours and a home life. Senior DPA and fleet roles close most of the gap.