The offer

Turn up early. Know the yacht's name, the advertised role and who you are meeting. Bring a clean folder with your original certificates, medical, passport and Training Record Book if you have one. Bring copies too, and know the dates on every document.

The folder is not theatre. It tells me you can look after important paperwork. Saying you have a certificate and then digging through your phone for twenty minutes tells me the opposite.

You are green. Nobody sensible expects you to know everything. They do expect you to be straight, prepared and teachable. If you do not know, say so. Confident nonsense loses trust faster than inexperience ever will.

Pay, leave, the cabin and the rotation are fair questions. But order matters. If your first questions are whether the work is hard and what the cabin is like, the captain hears somebody negotiating their escape from the job before discussing the job.

Ask about the work first.

• What would you expect me to own in my first month?
• Who would I report to day to day?
• Is the position permanent, fixed-term, seasonal or rotational?
• What is the joining date and intended itinerary?
• Is there a probation period or trial, and is it written into the agreement?

Then establish the deal.

• What is the salary, in which currency, and when is it paid?
• How does leave accrue, and when can it be taken?
• What notice applies to me and to the employer?
• Who pays travel to join and repatriation at the end?
• Which flag governs the agreement, and is the yacht commercial or private?

Asking nothing is not professionalism. It is signing a deal whose mechanics you do not understand.

A permanent agreement continues until one side ends it under the stated terms. A fixed-term or seasonal agreement has an end date or event. A rotation should say the time on and off, whether the off period is paid, who covers travel and when the rotation actually starts.

If daywork is becoming a berth, establish the exact point at which the paid day ends and employment begins. An open-ended “trial” is not a substitute for an offer.

Currency, payment date, leave, flights and notice can change the value of a deal more than the headline number does.

Start with the flag and whether the yacht is ordinarily operating commercially or privately. Commercial activity is the important starting point for general Maritime Labour Convention coverage. A private pleasure yacht will usually sit outside that general scope, although flag or national law may still give crew protections.

The flag state decides genuine edge cases. That is why the scanner asks you for flag and operating status before reading the document, and why it will tell you to ask rather than pretend every yacht is governed by the same answer.

Where the MLC applies, the baseline is that you get the chance to examine the agreement and seek advice before signing, and receive a signed original or copy. Use that chance. Read these nine points, not just the salary line.

A useful review does not hand out a fake legal ruling. It tells you what is clear, what is missing and what you need to do next.

An imperfect clause does not prove you have found a bad boat. The stronger test is what happens when you ask a normal, precise question. A good employer can explain the deal and correct the writing when it does not match the promise.

• There is no written agreement before you join or travel.
• The employer or shipowner cannot be identified.
• Salary, currency, leave, notice or repatriation is blank or only verbal.
• The document says consultancy agreement, while the role sounds like ordinary crew employment.
• You are told to sign immediately or discouraged from having the document checked.
• A verbal promise contradicts the written clause.
• The boat wants to hold your passport or original documents without a clear, temporary reason and an access arrangement.
• A deduction, repayment, penalty, confidentiality or image-use clause cannot be explained plainly.
• The role, rotation or commercial/private status changes at the last minute.

If somebody says “we always sort that later”, remember what happens when the relationship goes wrong. The conversation gets remembered differently. The signed document does not.

Then ask the exact question. No accusation. No borrowed legal threat.

• “The salary is stated, but I cannot find the currency or normal payment date. Could you confirm both?”
• “Could you show me how leave accrues and whether the stated rotation is paid?”
• “The agreement refers to repatriation but not the destination or who books the travel. Could you clarify that?”
• “The offer was described as permanent, but this clause gives an end date. Which arrangement is intended?”
• “Which flag-state law and complaints procedure apply to this agreement?”

Keep the offer, messages, payslips and travel instructions. If the captain is the problem, do not route the complaint only through the captain. Use the designated on-board procedure, management or DPA, a union, the flag state or another external channel as the situation requires.

If wages are unpaid, safety is at risk, your documents are being withheld or you may be stranded, use independent help quickly. The Crew Help Directory tells you which channel does what, including Nautilus, the PYA, ITF, SeafarerHelp, flag-state authorities and port state control.