It’s that time of year in the Mediterranean and other northern hemisphere yachting locations when many vessels are lined up in ports for the winter whilst a portion of their crew stay onboard to undertake the important task of ‘winterising’, as well as other key maintenance jobs which didn’t get addressed during the busy summer months of chartering.

Over the last couple of months, the PYA's Member Assistance Service (MAS) has received a number of reports from crew who have been approached by scammers offering false jobs onboard yachts. Along with these direct reports, there has also been a number of incidents reported via the Yacht Crew Facebook Groups.

We have particularly been working closely with the International Seafarers' Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) who has - up until this point - provided a 24/7 helpline to all seafarers worldwide.