Search on page

YPI CREW is Europe’s leading yacht crew recruitment agency founded in 2002, dedicated to connecting talented professionals with premier superyacht careers worldwide, guided by the values of partnership and trust. Founded in 2002 and part of the Schulte Group—one of the maritime industry’s longest-standing players—YPI CREW specialises in personalised yacht crew recruitment. Our expert recruiters champion candidates for positions aboard the world’s finest superyachts, ensuring a seamless match between talent and team. Guided by the core values of partnership and trust, we strive to build high-performing, united crew teams capable of delivering exceptional guest experiences, while fostering meaningful career development and new life opportunities across generations. Services Yacht crew recruitment and placement (specialist-focused, personalised service) Market intelligence (salary guidance and recruitment trend reports) Career support (CV templates, interview preparation, role insights, visa information) Consultation on wages, contracts, and competitive staffing strategies Industry advocacy and participation in professional forums and events Contact Information Website: www.ypicrew.com Email: info@ypicrew.com Phone: +33 (0)4 92 90 46 10 YPI CREW YPI CREW is Europe’s leading yacht crew recruitment agency founded in 2002, dedicated to connecting talented professionals with premier superyacht careers worldwide, guided by the values of partnership and trust. Visit website Back to All Partners Become a member and enjoy the exclusive offers from our partners. Become a member

Hill Dickinson’s journey began in 1810 when it quickly established itself as a leading maritime law firm. With more than 190 partners and 1,300 people we operate from offices in London, Monaco, Liverpool, Manchester, Chester, Sheffield, Piraeus and Singapore. Hill Dickinson’s journey began in 1810 when it quickly established itself as a leading maritime law firm. Our progressive CSR programme enables employees to participate in active corporate citizenship. With more than 190 partners and 1,300 people we operate from offices in London, Monaco, Liverpool, Manchester, Chester, Sheffield, Piraeus and Singapore. Hill Dickinson LLP Hill Dickinson’s journey began in 1810 when it quickly established itself as a leading maritime law firm. With more than 190 partners and 1,300 people we operate from offices in London, Monaco, Liverpool, Manchester, Chester, Sheffield, Piraeus and Singapore. Visit website Back to All Partners Become a member and enjoy the exclusive offers from our partners. Become a member

Each year our PYA advisors spend a large portion of their time helping yacht crew navigate through the large list of information required in support of their Notice of Eligibility Application (NOE) for OOW 3000. Due to the fairly comprehensive list of supporting documents required by the MCA, it often creates a lot of ‘toing and froing’ to ensure.. Your hassle-free guide to applying for an OOW 3000 NOEOOW To All news 16 September 2019 Each year our PYA advisors spend a large portion of their time helping yacht crew navigate through the large list of information required in support of their Notice of Eligibility Application (NOE) for OOW 3000 GT Yachts. Due to the fairly comprehensive list of supporting documents required by the MCA, it often creates a lot of ‘toing and froing’ to ensure all the necessary information is submitted. We encourage all members to plan ahead before the season comes to an end to ensure their application for OOW 3000 NOE goes as smoothly as possible. Documents required All the documents listed below (taken from Section 4A of the OOW 3000 NOE application) need to be submitted alongside your OOW 3000 NOE application. MSF 4343 NOE Application filled in, signed, countersigned and in original Attested Copy of Passport and Visa if applicable Your PYA Digital Service Record Book (must be sent by email to the MCA Deck team at deck@mcga.gov.uk - The D-SRB must NOT be printed. It is a digitally stamped document with an electronic signature that cannot be checked if printed and, therefore, will not be accepted by the MCA) Two countersigned passport photographs (PYA can countersign your photos and also sign the counter-signature in section 6 in your application; alternatively, refer to page 10 of NOE application, for instructions) MCA recognised Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence/Master of Yachts Limited/Yachtmaster Coastal/Master of Yachts Coastal MCA recognised Yachtmaster Offshore Shore-based Certificate Personal Survival Techniques STCW A-VI/1-1 (after 1st January 2017 updated or issued < 5 years); Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting STCW A-VI/1-2 (after 1st January 2017 updated or issued < 5 years) Elementary First Aid STCW A-VI/1-3 Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities STCW A-VI/1-4 Valid Medical Fitness Certificate (ENG1) MCA approved Training Record Book for OOW 3000 Yachts (PYA Membership includes a free printed and bound TRB) dully filled in and signed Additional documents The following documents can either be sent with your NOE application or later, but need to be sent for the issuance of your CoC: PSC&RB/ PSC&RB(R) (STCW A-VI/2) OR Advanced Sea Survival for Yachtsmen MCA approved Navigational & Radar (OOW Yachts) Training Module and pass certificate (<3 years old) An MCA approved ECDIS course MCA approved General Ship Knowledge (OOW Yachts) and pass certificate (<3 years old) MCA approved Efficient Deck Hand (EDH) Course MCA approved HELM Operational Certificate GMDSS General Operators Certificate or Restricted Operators Certificate Timeline The MCA takes an average of 28 days to process your NOE application, so plan in advance. Our PYA Sea Service team can, if requested, certify photocopies of your passport and certificates if you don’t wish to send your originals to the MCA (provided they have seen originals or certified copies). For this service contact certificates@pya.org For help with your NOE application, questions, or appointmenst with our specialist advisors contact srb@pya.org More news PYA - the Voice of yacht crew Discover how our actions go beyond membership to strengthen the entire yachting sector. Read more Next Generation in Yachting Forum 2025 - Highlights The PYA Next Generation in Yachting Forum, held on 11 April in Antibes, offered aspiring yacht crew an invaluable insight into the yachting industry. With contributions from leading recruitment agents including Bluewater, Hill Robinson, The Crew Network, and YPI, the event covered essential topics such as CV preparation, interview techniques, and professional etiquette. Attendees also received guidance on visas, welfare support, and career pathways across all departments, with practical advice from Captains, trainers, and experienced crew. The afternoon concluded with focused breakout sessions and networking, providing a unique opportunity to connect with industry professionals and prepare for a successful career at sea. Read more PYA Christmas Ball 2024 Highlights The PYA Christmas Ball, held on 6 December 2024, was an exceptional evening celebrating the yachting community in style. This year’s theme, Peaky Blinders meets Downton Abbey, provided the perfect blend of elegance and vintage charm, creating a truly memorable atmosphere. Read more

Have questions about the PYA or the services it provides? You can check the frequently asked cuestions about the organisation, Sea Service Testimonials, Yacht Rating Certificate, Training Record Book and more. Frequently asked questions General Questions Digital Service Record Book (D-SRB) What is an NOE or Notice of Eligibility? NOE stands for Notice of Eligibility. The MCA issues this document and it means you have met all the requirements to sit an oral examination with the MCA for a Certificate of Competence (CoC). Before you can book a date for an oral exam, you must have obtained an NOE. It will come with instructions on how to book an oral and details on how the oral exam works. What is a testimonial? Why can’t Reference Letters or Seaman Discharge Books be accepted instead? A testimonial is documentary proof of your onboard yacht service and sea service. It contains the details of the yacht, your position, and your detailed sea service, with days at sea, standby, shipyard, and watchkeeping (whichever applicable). Most of the time, letters do not contain all the necessary information related to your sea service, so even if they can serve as a reference, they will not qualify as a testimonial as well. The same applies to Seaman Discharge Book (SDB) entries. They refer only to your dates and role on board but do not specify the sea service you acquired. Testimonials must be signed by the Master of the vessel on board which the qualifying service has been performed, or can also be signed by the Chief Officer or Chief Engineer (where engineers are concerned). In the case of service as Master, the testimonials must be signed by the owner or a responsible person from the Yacht Management Company such as a company director or yacht manager. When should I get a testimonial? The best would be to get a testimonial every 6 months or seasonal. You can always ask for a testimonial afterwards but it may prove more complicated as people might move on to other jobs in the meantime and not necessarily have access to the required information later. You can ask the Captain, Chief Officer, Chief Engineer (if you were working in an engineering role and weren't the Chief Engineer onboard), yacht manager, owner or owner's representative to sign your testimonials and verify them. What happens if my Captain no longer works on the boat where I was employed? You can still use the captain as a signatory, as long as you have their contact information (email). When can a testimonial be ‘declined’? This can happen for various reasons: If the definitions of sea service have been disregarded, i.e. standby time exceeds days at sea, sea service totals are higher than employment period, etc. If the testimonial is self-signed If the testimonial for a Master is signed by another Master and does not fall in an exceptional situation. See guidelines . What is the procedure to issue/update my D-SRB? How do my testimonials get verified? How do I know the status of my testimonials’ verification? Log into your PYA profile and upload your testimonials/certificates to ‘your documents’. The documents will then go through our verification process. You can verify the status of your documents in your profile under ‘your documents’. How does the sea service verification work? Please read here. How does the PYA D-SRB work? Please go back to the D-SRB FAQ here. What is Seaman's Discharge Book (SDB)? What is the difference between the SDB and the PYA D-SRB (Digital Service Record Book)? A Seaman's Book / Seaman's Discharge Book / Discharge Book is a physical booklet, issued by maritime authorities all around the world, which, traditionally, has two purposes: Identity document, and Record of your employment history Additionally, a Seaman's Book can be useful when passing through an airport or when taking shore leave. You can read more about SDBs here. A D-SRB (Digital Service Record Book) is a PYA-generated electronic document that replaced the PYA's physical Service Record Book (SRB). The PYA's SRB (now D-SRB) was introduced to make it easier for yacht crew to prove to the MCA their experience and that they held the relevant qualifications required to apply for a Certificate of Competency (CoC). It is recognized by the MCA and Transport Malta but not necessarily by the maritime authorities of other countries. We recommend that you have BOTH. As they serve different purposes. You can read more about the PYA D-SRB by going back to the FAQs here. What is a TRB or Training Record Book? TRB stands for Training Record Book. For deck, the OOW 3000 Yachts MCA Training Record Book is a requirement that must completed before you can apply for an OOW 3000 Yachts CoC. You can download this online on the MCA website or ask us for a free bound copy when you are a PYA member. For engineers going through the Small Vessel Route, the Engineering TRB can only be obtained after you've registered into the Program and from Training Providers or Colleges that offer SV courses. To register, you have to prove you satisfy all the entry requirements. How can I get certified copies of documents? Who can certify documents that I need to submit to the PYA? Do they all (testimonials and certificates) need to be certified? The certification of your documents for PYA use can be done by anyone holding a CoC, a management company, a training provider, or other professionals such as doctors, lawyers or teachers, who declare that the copies are true copies of the originals. Only certificates need to be certified as true copies, not testimonials. We cannot process your testimonials without confirming your identity so your file will remain pending until you upload a certified copy of your passport. Text sample: ----- "I certify that this/these is a/are true copy/ies of the original/s." Full name, COC number and issuing authority (if available), stamp (if available), signature. ----- Whoever is certifying your documents can: - write the declaration on each copy; Alternatively, you can go to one of our Agents listed in the Contacts section, or any notary public, or MCA-approved nautical colleges, or IYT NOE Application documents and certificated are send to the MCA via EMAIL ONLY at deck@mcga.g.uk or engineering@mcga.g.uk Is the Y route still available to engineers? No, the Y route was closed at the end of December 2022. Now, the route has been completely replaced by the Small Vessel Program. To learn more about it you can read MCA's MSN 1904 or contact us at srb@pya.org . Does the MEOL still exist? Yes, it is the new SV MEOL CoC. You can learn more about it by reading the MCA's MSN 1904 or contacting srb@pya.org Want to get personalised support? Choose the plan that fits you. Become a member

MYBA The Worldwide Yachting Association is an international professional organisation, founded in 1984, with both Corporate and Individual Members. The Association’s mission is to inspire, support and empower people in the superyacht industry to be their best: by maintaining business at the highest level of ethical conduct, committing to equality and diversity, protecting the environment, sharing knowledge and combining strengths, building strong relationships, and continuously developing, both professionally and personally. All MYBA Members possess a proven track record of professional excellence and they are involved at many levels and in most of the disciplines of the superyacht industry. MYBA is the Association that brings them together, encourages them to work in harmony to ensure that the industry continues to flourish and guides them on the highest ethical and technical standards. MYBA Membership means becoming an active advocate for the superyacht industry: acquiring a seat at the collective table, adding your perspective and having your voice heard. MYBA is the creator of the industry’s most respected and widely used contract documents, the MYBA Sales & Purchase Agreement (MoA) and the MYBA Charter Agreement, which together with their associated documents are regularly updated as regulations and the global market change. MYBA is the owner and administrator of YACHTFOLIO, the online tool that changed the way luxury yacht charter professionals do business, and it organises the very successful MYBA Charter Show, one of the most important events of the yachting calendar. MYBA also organises a series of annual seminars for aspiring or new brokers as well as established superyacht professionals who are looking to refresh and build on their knowledge and experience. Contact Information Address: 120 Avenue Eugène Donadeï Cap Center 06700 St Laurent du Var France info@myba.net Tel: +33 (0)493-318-549 Fax: +33 (0)493-318-853 MYBA MYBA The Worldwide Yachting Association is an international professional organisation, founded in 1984, with both Corporate and Individual Members. The Association’s mission is to inspire, support and empower people in the superyacht industry to be their best: by maintaining business at the highest level of ethical conduct, committing to equality and diversity, protecting the environment, sharing knowledge and combining strengths, building strong relationships, and continuously developing, both professionally and personally. Visit website Back to All Partners Become a member and enjoy the exclusive offers from our partners. Become a member

You may remember that, together with our friends from ECPY and GEPY, the PYA has been working with the French Minister and lobbying the French administration, to seek alternative solutions to the Posidonia anchorage ban. Installation of mooring buoys approved in Cannes, Golfe-Juan and Eze/Beaulieu To All news 17 May 2022 We are pleased to announce that the decision to install mooring buoys for yachting is now being implemented. The French administration has approved 5 buoys in the bay of Eze/Beaulieu-sur-Mer, 6 in Golfe-Juan and 4 in Cannes (see link to maps below). However, at this stage, we do not know when the buoys will be available, or the procedure, duration and cost of anchorage. We will keep you informed as soon as information becomes available. Do not hesitate to contact our CEO, should you require additional information on this situation at ceo@pya.org or +33 (0)6 26 83 70 58. Download maps here. More news PYA - the Voice of yacht crew Discover how our actions go beyond membership to strengthen the entire yachting sector. Read more Next Generation in Yachting Forum 2025 - Highlights The PYA Next Generation in Yachting Forum, held on 11 April in Antibes, offered aspiring yacht crew an invaluable insight into the yachting industry. With contributions from leading recruitment agents including Bluewater, Hill Robinson, The Crew Network, and YPI, the event covered essential topics such as CV preparation, interview techniques, and professional etiquette. Attendees also received guidance on visas, welfare support, and career pathways across all departments, with practical advice from Captains, trainers, and experienced crew. The afternoon concluded with focused breakout sessions and networking, providing a unique opportunity to connect with industry professionals and prepare for a successful career at sea. Read more PYA Christmas Ball 2024 Highlights The PYA Christmas Ball, held on 6 December 2024, was an exceptional evening celebrating the yachting community in style. This year’s theme, Peaky Blinders meets Downton Abbey, provided the perfect blend of elegance and vintage charm, creating a truly memorable atmosphere. Read more

South African Crew are warned against purchasing false boat papers to travel to the EU to look for work. South African Crew – Beware of this False Papers Scam To All news 5 October 2021 The PYA has recently learned that a Cape Town-based crew agent has been providing job seekers, for a substantial fee, with a clutch of documents that purport to show the holder is employed as a crew member onboard a yacht called S/Y ‘Malcolm Miller' (which is actually a UK-based Sail Training vessel). Due to the COVID-19 travel regulations, this documentation is issued to allow the job seeker to enter the EU and look for a real yacht-based job. A member of the PYA's confidential Member Assistance Service (MAS) has said, "Crew who try to use these false papers are risking not just their hard-earned cash but also legal problems. We know of one South African seafarer who was detained on arrival in France and deported. And, on top of this, there is the possibility that this person could be black-listed in the EU's passport control system." If you would like to report a scam targeted at yacht crew, please send this directly to our MAS team at advice@pya.org . More news PYA - the Voice of yacht crew Discover how our actions go beyond membership to strengthen the entire yachting sector. Read more Next Generation in Yachting Forum 2025 - Highlights The PYA Next Generation in Yachting Forum, held on 11 April in Antibes, offered aspiring yacht crew an invaluable insight into the yachting industry. With contributions from leading recruitment agents including Bluewater, Hill Robinson, The Crew Network, and YPI, the event covered essential topics such as CV preparation, interview techniques, and professional etiquette. Attendees also received guidance on visas, welfare support, and career pathways across all departments, with practical advice from Captains, trainers, and experienced crew. The afternoon concluded with focused breakout sessions and networking, providing a unique opportunity to connect with industry professionals and prepare for a successful career at sea. Read more PYA Christmas Ball 2024 Highlights The PYA Christmas Ball, held on 6 December 2024, was an exceptional evening celebrating the yachting community in style. This year’s theme, Peaky Blinders meets Downton Abbey, provided the perfect blend of elegance and vintage charm, creating a truly memorable atmosphere. Read more

Crew mental health and wellbeing have come to the forefront of many conversations within the yachting industry, with more and more yacht crew coming forward to share their struggles and multiple yachting organisations responding with services to support them. Crew Mental Wellbeing in the Spotlight To All news 5 November 2020 Crew mental health and wellbeing have come to the forefront of many conversations within the yachting industry, with more and more yacht crew coming forward to share their struggles and multiple yachting organisations responding with services to support them. Due to the increased pressure and uncertainty placed on crew this year due to the pandemic, mental health and wellbeing has never been so important. One of the organisations leading the response to crew wellbeing and providing a 24-hour helpline for seafarers all over the world, is ISWAN. ISWAN's Yacht Crew Help - Launching Soon In addition to their general helpline for seafarers, ISWAN will be launching an additional 24/7 helpline via their 'Yacht Crew Help' website which will provide specialised wellbeing support for yacht crew worldwide. The PYA is dedicated to improving the mental health and wellbeing support available to yacht crew, so we have been working closely with ISWAN as a supporting organisation behind the development of this service. This website is due to go live in November 2020, so we will follow-up with the full details on how you can access this service. Sailor's Society Launches Wellbeing Petition The Sailor's Society is a charity offering welfare, chaplaincy, mental health support and crisis response to seafarers and their families around the world. They too run a 24/7 helpline for seafarers, plus a number of chaplains situated in ports worldwide. In addition to this support, they run a number of campaigns to advocate on behalf of seafarers and raise awareness of the issues they face to promote their welfare within the maritime industry and to the general public. #Notonmywatch Recently, the Sailor's Society launched a petition to make wellbeing training a mandatory part of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). By providing wellbeing training to seafarers, they hope that this will reduce the prevalence of depression and suicide amongst seafarers. The PYA is supporting this initiative and intends to be proactive as it develops. Sign the petition. More news PYA - the Voice of yacht crew Discover how our actions go beyond membership to strengthen the entire yachting sector. Read more Next Generation in Yachting Forum 2025 - Highlights The PYA Next Generation in Yachting Forum, held on 11 April in Antibes, offered aspiring yacht crew an invaluable insight into the yachting industry. With contributions from leading recruitment agents including Bluewater, Hill Robinson, The Crew Network, and YPI, the event covered essential topics such as CV preparation, interview techniques, and professional etiquette. Attendees also received guidance on visas, welfare support, and career pathways across all departments, with practical advice from Captains, trainers, and experienced crew. The afternoon concluded with focused breakout sessions and networking, providing a unique opportunity to connect with industry professionals and prepare for a successful career at sea. Read more PYA Christmas Ball 2024 Highlights The PYA Christmas Ball, held on 6 December 2024, was an exceptional evening celebrating the yachting community in style. This year’s theme, Peaky Blinders meets Downton Abbey, provided the perfect blend of elegance and vintage charm, creating a truly memorable atmosphere. Read more

IMO Resolution MSC,428 (98) requires all SNS systems to include measures to ensure cyber security by the 2021 annual verification date. The paper side of this requirement, namely the insertion of new procedures into a current SMS, or the writing of a separate cyber SMS, only goes part way to meeting the intent of the IMO Resolution. The operational aspect is another story. AV/IT Advisory To All news 27 March 2021 IMO Resolution MSC,428 (98) requires all SNS systems to include measures to ensure cyber security by the 2021 annual verification date. The paper side of this requirement, namely the insertion of new procedures into a current SMS, or the writing of a separate cyber SMS, only goes part way to meeting the intent of the IMO Resolution. The operational aspect is another story. Yachting is a special sector of the maritime industry, in that the onboard entertainment systems, wifi stability, and uninterrupted connectivity, are deemed of equal importance as, for example, essential navigational data and machinery monitoring. One of the yacht’s entertainment channels may display position, route, speed, ETA, weather and other associated information. So essential data becomes mixed into entertainment, creating an infotainment scenario. Coming into this mix is whatever unmonitored external data streams are being sucked in by crew and guests. Accordingly, whoever has responsibility for a yacht’s AV/IT systems has two tasks. The first is to maintain the functioning of all units associated with entertainment and with communications/connectivity. The second is to detect and prevent malicious interference with such functioning. There is at present no recognised training programme nor any flag-approved qualification for AV/IT personnel in any sector. The IMO has published guidelines on achieving cyber security, but there are at present no flag-approved cyber security qualifications. The UK MCA has published a Code of Practice, but there is no mandatory training. The MCA’s ETO COC for the merchant service is totally irrelevant to the peculiarities of the yachting AV/IT field. All that is available at present is an ad hoc assortment of online self-learning, onboard induction by equipment manufacturers or installers, and some useful classroom courses which have no official sanction. The PYA, approached the Merchant Navy Training Board (MNTB) two years ago with a proposal to submit a non-mandatory AV/IT training matrix for yacht personnel, with sufficient credibility to attain formal MNTB recognition. Early work was interrupted by the C-19 pandemic. Recently a well-attended Zoom meeting was chaired by PYA Director John Wyborn to invite industry players to contribute ideas towards giving a recognised status to yacht AV/IT personnel. A small focus work group has now been assembled to produce a draft proposal for yacht AV/IT training and recognition. There is a general consensus that some core knowledge will be essential, but the time and monetary commitment required for mandatory classroom courses should be circumvented by using an online modular approach, incorporating some of the initiatives referred to above. For many positions on board yachts, AV/IT skills are a sine qua non for employment. The immediate intent of the PYA and partners in this enterprise is to give AV/IT yacht personnel official recognition of their skills, thereby enhancing career prospects and providing a negotiating base for appropriate salary compensation. In the longer term, the speed of technological advance and its concomitant vulnerabilities will force the IMO to mandate formal training to cover the AV/ITsystems on maritime mobile platforms. By that time, we intend to have in place an empirically tried and tested effective training system which will defend the yachting sector from such IMO over-reach as occurred during the drafting of MLC, 2006. Accordingly, any input from any crew member in any department about how to develop an approved AV/IT (Yacht) Certificate of Proficiency (COP) will be welcome. Think big, think outside the passive classroom setting, think about any personal lessons you may have learned from online instruction during the past 12 months, think for example about ways in which you can demonstrate and upload your skills, or record and transmit a successful solution to a technical AV/IT problem, to a remote monitor/instructor who can credit your work towards issuance of such COP. Any recommendations to make about online or classroom courses you have already attended? All submissions will be acknowledged, with a follow-up acknowledgement if any suggestion is incorporated into the final approved matrix. Captain Rod Hatch PYA Director deck.engineering@pya.org More news PYA - the Voice of yacht crew Discover how our actions go beyond membership to strengthen the entire yachting sector. Read more Next Generation in Yachting Forum 2025 - Highlights The PYA Next Generation in Yachting Forum, held on 11 April in Antibes, offered aspiring yacht crew an invaluable insight into the yachting industry. With contributions from leading recruitment agents including Bluewater, Hill Robinson, The Crew Network, and YPI, the event covered essential topics such as CV preparation, interview techniques, and professional etiquette. Attendees also received guidance on visas, welfare support, and career pathways across all departments, with practical advice from Captains, trainers, and experienced crew. The afternoon concluded with focused breakout sessions and networking, providing a unique opportunity to connect with industry professionals and prepare for a successful career at sea. Read more PYA Christmas Ball 2024 Highlights The PYA Christmas Ball, held on 6 December 2024, was an exceptional evening celebrating the yachting community in style. This year’s theme, Peaky Blinders meets Downton Abbey, provided the perfect blend of elegance and vintage charm, creating a truly memorable atmosphere. Read more

The MCA have revealed the much anticipated new Yacht Manning Guidance framework which sets out the principles of Safe Manning and the new requirements for holders of the engineering Yacht Certificate of Competency. MCA publishes new Yacht Manning Guidance for engineers on yachts To All news 31 July 2023 The MCA have revealed the much anticipated new Yacht Manning Guidance framework which sets out the principles of Safe Manning and the new requirements for holders of the engineering Yacht Certificate of Competency. Following industry discussions, the MCA have unveiled their new guidance which includes the Manning Guidance tables that can now be reviewed by yacht crew. The new guidance is a must-read for crew and yacht owners across the industry, covering important areas including: The MCA and the UK’s approach to small yachts with large engines The requirements for additional endorsements Additional endorsements that can be requested by the holder of a Yacht CoC Additional endorsements that can be requested by the holder of a EOOW III/1 CoC Some vessels require crew to have a Yacht Rating Certificate as part of their safe manning requirements. Having this certificate can improve your chances of finding a job and ensure that you are able to access all the opportunities available to you in the yachting industry. “The position held onboard by the seafarer must be reflected by the capacity and limitations in their CoC. The exception is where a vessel is under 500 GT and not a passenger ship (where SOLAS and STCW do not apply) and that operate within the near-coastal area (up to 150 miles from a Safe Haven). For these non-Convention sized vessels, The MCA has allowed for holders of an MCA issued non-STCW certificates to take on the role as an Engineer Officer, as per the manning table.” – UK Maritime & Coast Guard Agency To access the latest guidance, you can download the document here . For further reading, visit the UK Government’s website here If you require assistance in obtaining a Yacht Rating Certificate, you can access our service to begin the process of verification or, as a full PYA member, you can make this request to us. More news PYA - the Voice of yacht crew Discover how our actions go beyond membership to strengthen the entire yachting sector. Read more Next Generation in Yachting Forum 2025 - Highlights The PYA Next Generation in Yachting Forum, held on 11 April in Antibes, offered aspiring yacht crew an invaluable insight into the yachting industry. With contributions from leading recruitment agents including Bluewater, Hill Robinson, The Crew Network, and YPI, the event covered essential topics such as CV preparation, interview techniques, and professional etiquette. Attendees also received guidance on visas, welfare support, and career pathways across all departments, with practical advice from Captains, trainers, and experienced crew. The afternoon concluded with focused breakout sessions and networking, providing a unique opportunity to connect with industry professionals and prepare for a successful career at sea. Read more PYA Christmas Ball 2024 Highlights The PYA Christmas Ball, held on 6 December 2024, was an exceptional evening celebrating the yachting community in style. This year’s theme, Peaky Blinders meets Downton Abbey, provided the perfect blend of elegance and vintage charm, creating a truly memorable atmosphere. Read more