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Superyacht crew agencies, U.S. charter and small passenger work, and private yacht careers: how this market hires, and what your credentials do and do not cover.
By Captain Mike · 50 years at sea · former MITAGS faculty Agency contacts and careers pages checked October 6, 2026
This is not a live job board. Current openings stay on each agency’s or employer’s own website.
Yacht and charter work is a different employment market
Yacht hiring rarely looks like a shipping company’s hiring. Common differences include:
Crew agencies and placement firms
Owner and captain decisions
Foreign-flag yachts
Seasonal itineraries
Living aboard
Service and hospitality skills
Short or open-ended contracts
Word-of-mouth references
Flag-state certificates
Some people start with no maritime experience as a deckhand or junior steward. Others come from commercial shipping, the military or recreational boating.
A U.S. Coast Guard credential does not automatically qualify someone for every yacht position.
Superyacht Crew & Placement
3 placement gateways
Large private and charter yachts, often foreign-flagged, usually hired through crew agencies.
Accuracy note: Employer requirements, credential rules, contact information, and job openings can change. Mariners Online provides general career guidance and links to official employer and placement resources. Always confirm current qualifications and application instructions with the employer, crew agency, vessel operator, or applicable flag authority. Mariners Online is not affiliated with any company or agency listed.
Buttons marked ↗ take you to the agency’s or employer’s own website in a new tab, so you will be leaving Mariners Online. Legitimate crew agencies and employers do not ask applicants to pay to be hired.
SUPERYACHT CREW
Superyacht Crew & Placement
Most superyacht crew are hired through crew agencies and the placement departments of yacht brokerage and management firms. These three are established gateways, not a complete list.
Requirements vary by yacht, flag state and position. Always check the current posting.
IYC (Crew Department)
ENTRY-LEVEL POSSIBLEEXPERIENCED CREWGLOBAL YACHTS
What they do
IYC is a yacht brokerage, charter and management company. Its crew department selects crew for yacht owners and captains and runs an online crew job board. IYC says its recruiters work with both experienced and entry-level candidates and offer career advice and help with the résumé and interview process.
Jobs you may find
Entry-level postings may include: Deckhand · Junior Steward / Stewardess · Cook / Second Cook
Experienced postings may include: Captain · Officers · Engineers · Interior management · Chef
Getting started
Browse current postings on the IYC Crew portal and apply to the specific positions that fit your experience. IYC says all onboard yacht applications go through IYC Crew, not its office-based careers team.
Entry-level postings seen on the board asked for STCW Basic Training, a valid ENG1 medical certificate and a professional CV (résumé).
IYC states that it operates under the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC) and does not charge seafarers for recruitment.
Requirements differ from posting to posting. Read each one before applying.
What is an ENG1? ENG1 is the seafarer medical certificate issued under the United Kingdom’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency system, and many yacht postings ask for it. It is a separate document from a U.S. Coast Guard medical certificate. Check which medical certificate a posting asks for before you book an exam.
Credentials commonly seen
Credentials commonly associated with yacht crew positions may include: STCW Basic Training, a seafarer medical certificate (yacht postings often ask for an ENG1), a passport, and for officer and engineer posts, certificates of competency acceptable to the yacht’s flag state. Requirements vary by yacht, flag and position.
Main office (U.S.)
IYC, Fort Lauderdale 110 East Broward Boulevard, Suite 1650 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 954-522-2323
Fraser is a yacht brokerage, charter and management company. The Crew Network (TCN) is Fraser’s crew recruitment and placement subsidiary, with offices in Fort Lauderdale, Antibes, Viareggio and Palma. Fraser also hires its own shoreside staff.
Jobs you may find
Deck · Engineering · Interior · Galley · Officer and command positions · Shoreside roles at Fraser
Getting started
Search and apply for yacht crew positions through The Crew Network’s job search platform.
The Crew Network states that applying for yacht jobs through TCN is free of charge, and describes itself as fully MLC 2006 compliant. That covers applying through TCN; it does not mean medical exams, training, credentials or travel are free.
TCN says it is developing help and advice guides for people who are new to yachting.
Fraser posts its own office positions separately, including roles in crew coordination, technical superintendence, project management and yacht accounting.
Credentials commonly seen
Credentials commonly associated with yacht crew positions may include: STCW Basic Training, a seafarer medical certificate (yacht postings often ask for an ENG1), a passport, and for officer and engineer posts, certificates of competency acceptable to the yacht’s flag state. Requirements vary by yacht, flag and position. Shoreside roles at Fraser follow the requirements in each posting.
Crew office (Fort Lauderdale)
The Crew Network 1800 Southeast 10th Avenue, Suite 400 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 Office (shared with Fraser): 954-463-0600 Other TCN offices: Antibes, Viareggio, Palma
Employment contact
Crew applications: Through The Crew Network job search platform (free to apply, according to TCN).
Burgess is a superyacht brokerage, charter and management company. Burgess says its crew recruitment team works closely with owners and captains to source experienced officers and crew, and that its recruitment specialists are former superyacht professionals.
Crew vacancies are posted on the Burgess vacancies site.
The crew service is aimed mainly at experienced officers and crew. Newcomers may find more entry-level postings elsewhere.
Burgess’s Crew Candidate Policy states there is no charge to crew candidates for registration or representation; the recruiting client pays the placement fee.
Burgess office (shoreside) jobs are listed separately on its Careers at Burgess page.
Requirements vary by yacht and position. Read each posting before applying.
Credentials commonly seen
Credentials commonly associated with yacht crew positions may include: STCW Basic Training, a seafarer medical certificate (yacht postings often ask for an ENG1), a passport, and for officer and engineer posts, certificates of competency acceptable to the yacht’s flag state. Requirements vary by yacht, flag and position.
U.S. office (Miami)
Burgess 1450 Brickell Avenue, Suite 2780 Miami, FL 33131 305-672-0150 This is a general office, not a crew recruitment office. Burgess lists offices in 19 locations worldwide.
Crew recruitment contact
Crew applications: Register and apply through the Burgess crew vacancies site.
Much U.S. charter work happens on smaller vessels carrying paying passengers: fishing charters, sightseeing and harbor tours, dive boats, sailing charters, dinner cruises and water taxis. Whoever operates a vessel carrying passengers for hire generally needs a Coast Guard credential that matches the vessel, the number of passengers and the route.
The two main entry credentials
Credential
What it generally covers
What it does not cover
OUPV (Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels), often called the “six-pack”
Uninspected vessels carrying no more than six passengers for hire, on the route shown on the credential.
Inspected passenger vessels (generally, those carrying more than six passengers for hire), which need a Master endorsement of the right tonnage and route.
Master 25 / 50 / 100 GRT (gross register tons)
Command of vessels up to the tonnage and route on the endorsement, including inspected passenger vessels within those limits. The tonnage is set mainly by the size of vessels in your documented sea service.
Vessels above the endorsed tonnage or routes beyond the endorsement. On a foreign-flag yacht, it counts only if that flag state accepts or endorses it.
Credential accuracy: An OUPV does not cover all charter work. A 100-ton Master endorsement does not make someone a superyacht captain: many larger yachts exceed 100 gross tons, and yachts on international voyages are subject to their flag state’s certification rules. Check the exact tonnage, route and vessel type before accepting a job.
Other things charter operators commonly need
A Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) carrying the endorsement, plus a Coast Guard medical certificate.
Enrollment in a drug-testing program for commercial work, under the conditions set by Coast Guard and Department of Transportation rules.
A TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential) in some cases. Whether you need one depends on your credential and where you work.
First aid and CPR training for many original applications.
How a charter is arranged (crewed charter, bareboat charter, or something else) affects which rules apply. This page does not give legal advice. If you are setting up a charter business, check with the Coast Guard and a maritime attorney.
Most U.S. charter operators are small local businesses, so we have not listed individual employers. Look locally: charter docks, marinas, sailing schools, dive shops and harbor tour companies. Deckhand and mate jobs on these boats are a common way to log sea time toward a credential.
On a private yacht, the crew work for the owner, often through a yacht management company. Some yachts are used only by the owner; others are also chartered out. Typical departments are deck, engineering, interior and galley.
Flag state. Many larger yachts are registered outside the United States. The flag state sets the certificate and manning rules on board.
Contracts. Terms, leave, rotation and pay arrangements vary widely from yacht to yacht.
Living aboard. Crew often live aboard for long periods and move with the yacht’s seasonal itinerary.
Owner expectations. Service, privacy, presentation and discretion matter as much as seamanship.
Employment protections differ. Whether the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC) applies, and how, depends on the yacht’s flag state, size and use. Do not assume every private yacht provides the same protections. Ask for a written employment agreement and read it before you join.
What about my U.S. Coast Guard credential?
A U.S. Coast Guard credential does not automatically qualify someone for every yacht position. On a foreign-flag yacht, the flag state decides which certificates it accepts. On a U.S.-flag recreational yacht that does not carry passengers for hire, legal requirements depend on the yacht’s size and use, and owners, insurers and management companies often set their own requirements.
Commercial mariners sometimes move into yachting. Possible directions include:
Yacht Captain
Chief Officer / Mate
Chief Engineer
Second Engineer
Bosun
Deck crew
Charter boat captain
Yacht delivery work
Before you apply: Do not assume an Unlimited Master or Chief Engineer credential automatically translates into yacht employment. Yacht-specific experience, flag-state rules, STCW, medical requirements, and owner expectations may matter.
Not every agency or yacht has every role. Check current postings.
Keep exploring
Related career guides and directories on Mariners Online.
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