YACHT MANAGEMENT
KNOX HOUSE MARINE & AVIATION An ever-changing landscape means that yacht owners are faced with numerous considerations, and that’s prior to the addition of a global pandemic. This means that working with people who understand the challenges and have the requisite superyacht knowledge and industry experience is a must. KHMA offer expertise that reduces the administrative burden while maximising the benefits of yacht ownership. Whether the vessel is operated privately or commercially, their services are tailored to the exact needs of owners. Their award-winning services include: multi-jurisdictional ownership structuring, VAT importations, international registrations, crew payroll and crew recruitment, technical services and much more. For more details Tel: +44 (0)1624 631710 or visit
www.knoxhousetrust.com
out of the onboard heads of departments that they just quit. That act then upset the owner.
He continues, “Then there are the hands-off variety who just do the bare minimum. Usually these are the managers who sell just an ISM package to the owner and undertake only that management function leaving everything else to the yacht. I found that this was fine when I was running smaller vessels but now as the commander of a much larger yacht with a significant number of crew on board, I feel that would lead to a very stressed out captain. That style of management tends to overlook many onboard issues leaving the heads of departments to manage them with all the inherent problems that then ensue.”
“My favourite are the middle of the road managers who act as a buffer between owners’ representatives and the vessel deflecting the difficult matters which would take up too much of the captain’s time to try and resolve. Sensibly they would leave the yacht to decide how the vessel is actually run. This includes, deciding how and when to get from A to B and who they hire and fire. Managers like this have a framework in place for budgeting, accounting and crew payroll. As a Captain I know where I stand, and I can get on with the job at hand which is satisfying the owner’s wishes.”
“When I was sailing full time, as the Captain of Rassalas,” says Captain A J Anderson, “We would joke that the twelve most terrifying words a captain will hear: “I am from yacht management and I am here to help you”. Today as a manager himself, he has a somewhat different approach and says, “We all have jobs to do. Sometimes they overlap so collaboration matters. The best managers are there to support the captains while all being required to fulfil the owner and family office requirements. Today he adds, “The captain benefits from the experience and current knowledge of a specialist yacht manager. Having that support in helping the captain explain circumstances to the owner can make the difference in their understanding. Additionally, captains are always representing the crew’s interest, but often are not able to represent their own interest. Having a third party in a yacht manager to support a captain’s terms of employment is important.”
HELP OR HINDRANCE? When offering yacht management services, there is always the possibility of managers being seen as ‘treading on the feet of the
captain and senior crew. “We overcome getting under the feet of the yacht’s crew by offering valuable support in many different areas”, says Phillip Holden at Bluewater. He adds, “This can prove to be invaluable when the vessel has guests on and there may not be enough hours in the day for the captain or senior crew. A management company is there to help and ensure the smooth running of your vessel, not there to pick at problems or point fingers! We take the headache out of running a yacht.”
At Reliance Yacht Management, Nick Irving has never really come across this problem when managing yachts. “In reality,” he says, “The owners approach us first and we are their main point of reference and contact for the yacht. Likewise, we have extensive networks of captains that we assign to yachts. We aim to build good relationships with both parties and are often key to developing the relationship between owner and captain. Management is not ad hoc to the running of a yacht but central to its success.”
“Such comments are now outdated and certainly not a reflection the new captains coming through the industry,” says Nick Dean of Ocean Independence. “Captains such as these fully realise that each party has an important role to play and neither should tread on each other’s toes. In the end we are tasked by an owner to do the best possible job for him, whether on board or ashore.”
TECHNICALLY COMPLICATED With superyachts becoming larger and more technically complicated, yacht managers can bring other major benefits to the table. “The bigger the yacht the more crew there is and with that comes more crew management,” says Phillip Holden at Bluewater. He adds, “Our technical management backing up the yacht’s engineers and ETOs, help co-ordinate contractors, shipyards, technical support companies and ensure they in turn back up the engineers and ETOs. This allows the onboard team to get on with their jobs. Often as managers we are able to help the owner with negotiating better rates when dealing with technical and audio-visual and information technology issues.”
“That is so true,” agrees Nick Irving who adds, “Yacht management can provide what all the technology in the world can never quite provide – people. We have an extensive network of captains and crew, relationships with industry experts and technical providers worldwide, built through decades of good business and loyalty.”
ONBOARD | SPRING 2021 | 107
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