Ask a Russian Oligarch's Superyacht crew anything...

[justaninnocenthenchman]

Arnold Cunningham said:

Is there a typically age to be crew?
I have buddies from both oil & gas and shipping. Generally, by their mid 30’s they’ve had enough of it and want to go shore based. Does the same apply to superyacht crew?

We have a handful over 40, and I've worked with people in their 60s. Some people do a year or two for the experience, others a full career. Like any organisation there are fewer roles as you progress, and natural wastage is inevitable. On the other hand, for anyone who does progress, the 'golden handcuffs' (meaning the inevitable pay cut, and quality of living reduction associated with any shore-side move) are often enough to keep them around.

I'd be wary of comparing yachts to merchant navy or O&G though. I've never worked O&G but did almost a decade MN. The attitudes there are very different. Unionised clock watchers who see the company as the enemy and who constantly moan that it was better 'in their day' was my experience for the most part. The sort of people who wouldn't last five minutes on a yacht. I'd had enough of that backwards bullst by the time I was late 20s so moved on. There are plenty of ex-MN people on the yachts, but they are the ones with the more positive and progressive mindsets.

[justaninnocenthenchman]

HocusPocus said:

Have suppliers gone to MUF credit terms?

Also are there mission critical tech or engineering support/supplies which are now being denied to the boat?

Lots of Russian UBO aircraft have been removed from registries in the past week and OEMs have ceased support. So those aircraft may effectively become expensive junk come the next 50 or 100 hour check, with no qualified engineer releasing to service.

My guess is the safest place for the crew would be if the boat is arrested in an EU port until the situation resolves. Release may take a while as the attitude change is as seismic as 9/11.

Mostly yes, even those we have had long term dealings with. Perfectly understandable as boats can be slow to settle bills at the best of times. Some contractors have pulled support to seized vessels, or sanctioned owners. Something I've experienced in the past and there are ways to work around it, though often inconvenient for us.

[justaninnocenthenchman]

Arnold Cunningham said:

I may be wrong, but I "think"...that with an aircraft, once the paperwork trail is broken you are more or less screwed.

But with a boat, it's much less stringent - so even if parked up completely unmaintained for a few years, it's still a viable vessel if you can get everything working again. "I think".

I wonder where the market for superyachts will be though? Who else runs superyachts of this size?

In theory, a laid up vessel can be 'reactivated'. As long as you meet flag and class requirements at the time, it doesn't really matter the history. You may lose your CMS notation but that's not a show stopper - just a bigger survey to get you going.

[justaninnocenthenchman]

Arnold Cunningham said:

It was certainly a reason why, after having a degree in marine engineering, I then bodyswerved the industry entirely (I remember how uninspiring the interview was with Devonport Dockyards and thinking "no thanks, mate") . But on the flip side, I know some guys in it still and they've each found a way through it all to come out on top overall.

Do the roles get particularly segregated - for example, do some guys stay solely "front of house" with another team solely behind the scenes (e.g. chef, engineers)? In fact, do you need much by way of engineering capability onboard, or if there's an issue to you just put in at the next convenient port and the relevant specialists fly in?

And I assume if front of house then regardless of official role, you do what needs to be done if requested by a guest, no questions asked?

Do guests get exactly the same treatment as the owners? Or do you dial it up another notch when the owners are on board?

Yes, roles are fairly well defined on anything above 50m. Small boats and you really are doing a bit of everything, but generally on bigger stuff all though you will help out as required, your job is your job.

You'd be surprised what we can and actually do regarding onboard engineering. The planned stuff can be scheduled and contractors brought in, but often when stuff fails, you are on your own to sort it out. There is redundancy built in, and a lot of spares carried, but a huge breadth of equipment on board means fault diagnosis skills are highly valued, as much as spanner twirling. Given the fact that much of the kit is bespoke to adds to the challenge, and the fact that things usually break at 4pm on a Friday.

Guests should in theory be treated the same as the owner. Of course, there is a strict hierarchy on board, with the owner at the top, then principal guest, and so on, but even without the owner there you can be sure everything will find it's way back to them at some point, so best to keep everyone happy. There will be requests made, and we will always try to accommodate them, but it is not always the case. Speaking truth to power is a dangerous game, but so is letting half a dozen well lubricated guests disappear unsupervised in a tender 10 minutes before sunset. Sometimes the answer has to be no. Of course if they absolutely insisted then there is nothing you can really do to stop them, but generally they are respectful of the decisions, once explained, or a compromise is found.

[justaninnocenthenchman]

Ladders said:

Interesting topic!

Just a few mundane questions I’m afraid.

What do you do on a day off if your not in port? Do you have to stay ‘out of sight’ in your cabin?

Do you have a staff canteen for meals / break times? Do you have staff ‘outdoor’ areas?

Does the luxury extend to staff cabins, or do you all sleep 6 to a tiny room in hammocks?

And finally, are all the staff at it with each other? And do you all get along?

Unusual to have a day off if we are not in port. Usually that means we either have guests on board, or are on passage. In either case there will be no days off.

We have a crew mess, some larger boats might also have an officer's mess, though this is rare on yachts, more a big-ship thing. Usually there is a deck that the crew can use for tanning during downtime, or just some fresh air during the day.

Cabins are well fitted out, with TVs, entertainment systems etc. Usually two to a cabin, with the seniors on their own.

The crew generally get on. As I mentioned in an earlier post, if you are unable to get on with a bunch of people in close proximity then you won't last in the industry, one way or another. It is one thing to dislike your colleagues in a shore side office, but you don't have to live with them, or sit across a table over breakfast with them. On a boat you just need to learn tolerance. Even if you don't particularly like the person, you still need to be able to get along.

[justaninnocenthenchman]

steveo3002 said:

any xmas bonus /gift /party stories?

Normally a 13th month bonus over Christmas. Parties can be quite extravagant, especially on charter boats. Booze is bought upfront and paid for by the charterer. There is always some left at the end and they rarely take it home with them, so it stays, and is free to be consumed by crew.

Occasional watches/handbags handed out as gifts, and there are always stories of Range Rovers given to deckhands for 'saving' someone in the water, but I've never experienced it first-hand. Private jet trips not uncommon if you need to change crew out in far-flung places. Same for helicopter trips when there are training boxes to be ticked.

[justaninnocenthenchman]

peter tdci said:

Is this a true picture of charter yacht life? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-9krjQaD_8

I've followed her for a while for the cooking aspect, but she recently left the yacht she was working on and apparently had to delete many of the videos she'd posted - presumably those that could have identified her employer at the time?

Never heard of her. In fact I've never consumed any SM or YT yacht content, so can't really comment on it's validity. I would say though, that as with any SM content, it is probably 90% self promotion for the creator, and 10% real information.

[justaninnocenthenchman]

Truckosaurus said:

For the coming summer season, how much of the calendar is set in stone, and how much decided on the fly (eg. 'I fancy spending next weekend in Majorca')

Also, I read one of these "aren't rich people dreadful" articles once that suggested the yacht crew stocked up on fresh food (and hundreds of Dollars worth of fresh flowers) every week on the off chance the owner decided to use the yacht at the last minute, with 9 times out of 10 it all got binned.

Is that realistic or can crews stock up at short notice these days?

We normally have an outline plan for the summer, but still need to be ready for any changes. We are in contact with drivers, heli pilots etc, and usually will have minimum 48 hrs notice of guest arrival. At that point it is just the fresh produce and flowers, everything else is already on board. The majority of the provisioning is done well before the season. We have a lot of storage capacity. In the case of a no show, very little will go to waste.

[justaninnocenthenchman]

SpeckledJim said:

When it's the chef's day off, does the crew all fend for themselves, or are there a few keen amateurs who step-up and cater for everyone?

No days off with guests on. Without guests, either on standby or in the winter and if you are unlucky enough to have only one chef, then on their day off the crew either fend for themselves, or the day before they will prepare a large lasagne or mac & cheese to keep everyone happy.

[justaninnocenthenchman]

MrJuice said:

Who runs the ship?

Like you and I control our household with a partner (if relevant). We decide how much to spend on X, whether to buy Y this year or next and whether we really need Z.

Who runs all this stuff for the boss? Do you put things out to tender? Say you need 50 lobsters. Do you just buy from your regular supplier or do you get people to bid? How do you know your regular supplier is not taking the piss with pricing?

I get that the owners are rich and these are relative pennies but would still be interested to hear

We decide on board what needs to be done, and how much it costs. The boss will then approve the work. Obviously we don't bother them with every little job (these are covered by our normal operating budget) but anything major will need the nod. Our operating budget will be agreed the year ahead, and will cover most planned expenses.

We do get multiple quotes for larger items where possible, but sometimes things are only available through the OEM. If we are spending 10M on a winter works period, then we will send a job list to a couple of shipyards and decide from there - though cheapest is obviously not always the 'best' option. The comparative quotes just give us bargaining power with our preferred yard.

Anything non-urgent we will shop around. Not necessarily every time, but as you said it is important to keep our suppliers honest.

However, that can all go out the window if mid summer we need something urgently. There can be some serious gouging going on by suppliers, especially if you are somewhere remote and they know they are your only option.

[justaninnocenthenchman]

rallye101 said:

Sounds as though all western crews are being handed p45s, Russians crews taking over and yachts smuggled out of ports overnight recently with their transponders off for fear of being sanctioned/ detained....headed back to russian ports apparently
Any news?

Don't believe everything you read.