Can NDAs Be Used to Keep Crew Quiet, and Where is the Line?

NDAs are a legitimate tool for owners, but they can also go too far.

“When I got the job, it came with a confidentiality agreement that was longer than my SEA,” says one former chief officer. “It covered everything from guest names to what shampoo their dog used.”

In the world of superyachting, non-disclosure agreements — NDAs — are nothing new. But some crew are raising concerns about how they’re used and, in some cases, abused. While owners have every right to protect their privacy, what happens when these agreements are used to keep crew silent about things they should be speaking up about?

An NDA is a legal agreement designed to protect confidential information from being shared. In yachting, that typically means protecting the identity of the owner or guests, details of the itinerary or technical and operational specifics.

“The NDA is simply a contract between two parties,” Michael T. Moore of Moore & Company Yacht Lawyers in Florida says. “We’re certainly seeing more of them now as owners seek that extra level of protection for their privacy.”

Benjamin Maltby, partner at UK firm Keystone Law, says they can vary. “They can serve legitimate purposes like protecting the UBO’s [Ultimate Beneficial Owner’s] private life,” he says. But he also warns that NDAs “are unenforceable or void if they contravene statutory prohibitions, like preventing whistleblowing or victim disclosures under the new Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, or if they are used improperly to silence individuals or cover up wrongdoing.” In
short: no NDA can legally prevent a crew member from reporting criminal conduct, discrimination or unsafe practices.

Where NDAs cross the line

There are, of course, legitimate reasons for NDAs. “Don’t post Instagram selfies with guests. Don’t TikTok on or around the yacht. Don’t tweet the yacht’s location in real time,” says one captain. “Basic discretion is part of the job. Owners and guests are often high profile and this is their time to relax, in privacy. NDAs make it clear that privacy is paramount.”

Yacht owners have many good reasons to use NDAs, Michael says. “Generally, they’re used legitimately to protect the owner’s business and personal interests,” he adds. “Anything that’s confidential, like trade secrets and copyright issues — intellectual property — all these need protecting, and NDAs prevent anyone sharing this information  with third parties.”

But Angela Wallace, purser trainer and former head of the PYA Welfare Group, says she has seen NDAs used as tools of intimidation, especially against inexperienced or non-native English-speaking crew. “A lot of green crew have no idea what they’re signing,” she says. “There’s often no onboarding explanation, and if they post something on social media, they’re blissfully unaware of the consequences.”

Angela stresses that it is vital crew read and understand the contents of any contract before signing and feel able to ask questions without fear of judgment. “Naturally this intimidation comes from high-ranking personnel,” she says. “Green crew are just so happy to have a job that often they’ll put up with bullying or even harassment.”

Some may even believe it’s normal or deserved, especially if they’ve experienced similar behavior before. Language barriers and cultural dynamics can make it harder for some crew to speak up, particularly when the bullying is subtle — things like exclusion, unrealistic tasks or being deliberately left out of team communications.

Some owners and captains go a step further. Angela says: “Of course, what happens on the boat stays on the boat, right? And in many cases, the crew are ‘compensated’ by cash or gifts [for turning a blind eye]. With owners who have a large team of lawyers, what young crew member will go against them?”

Power dynamics on board can skew perceptions of what’s acceptable. Junior crew, desperate to prove themselves, often won’t question unreasonable or even illegal demands if the seniors don’t. “There’s a culture of ‘shut up and be grateful,’” says one stew. “Even if someone crosses a line, you’re made to feel like speaking up is career suicide.” A deck officer confirms this. “And you’re just constantly told this is what happens in yachting. So if you want to keep your job, you just keep your head down.”

Another stew says she didn’t report verbal abuse from a senior officer because she’d signed an NDA and was “terrified of being sued.” The chief officer had told her just that.

This, Benjamin Maltby says, is not how NDAs are to be used. “NDAs are not intended to prevent the reporting of poor conduct by other crew members or the existence of unsafe practices,” he explains. Many NDAs are so broadly written that they undermine themselves, he says. “Clauses defining ‘confidential information’ are often so wide that they become unenforceable. All too often, NDAs are just copied from shore-based templates and are laughably unsuitable.”

For crew, the size of the paperwork is sometimes a clue. “The bigger the paperwork, the dodgier the yacht,” says a chef. “I once had to sign an NDA because the boss was blatantly cheating on his wife. It said if the affair reached the wife, we could be liable for his legal costs! Not sure that would stand up in court, but it was enough to scare people into silence.”

Angela confirms that NDAs are often used to keep crew from speaking out. “I’ve seen cases where crew were told they couldn’t talk, even in situations involving harassment or coercion,” she says. “But an NDA is null and void when it comes to criminal acts.” This includes assault, harassment, unsafe working conditions and pollution. “NDAs cannot be used to stop reports that involve safety, risk to life, injury or environmental damage,” she adds.

Who Decides Jurisdiction?

With yachts operating across territories and flying flags of convenience, jurisdiction can be a complicated area.

“Jurisdiction can be agreed in the NDA,” Michael says. “It doesn’t matter what the flag state is, it depends on what the parties have agreed.”

But when there’s no jurisdiction stated, things get murkier. Benjamin points to the 2024 case of Yacht Management Company Ltd v Gordon, where a UK employment tribunal agreed to hear a yacht stew’s claim under UK law because her salary went into a UK bank account and she paid UK taxes, even though the yacht had never entered UK waters.

“A good place to start,” Benjamin says, “is legal advice in your country of residence.” Even after crew leave a vessel, NDAs can cast a long shadow. Some crew are reluctant to list yachts on their resumes or even talk about their experiences at all.

“I posted a sunset and got fired, right at the end of our season,” says a former deckhand. “Apparently the island in the background gave away our location.” What he missed was the reflection of the yacht name on his crew shirt in the stainless steel he’d spent all afternoon polishing in the foreground of his aft deck Santorini sunset shot. Name of yacht plus iconic blue and white Santorini cliffside villa photo equals… well, in this case, instant dismissal.

“Captain told me he wouldn’t give me a reference as I’d breached contract and hoped I would learn my lesson,” he says. It took the deckhand a year to find another job. Angela says fear of breaching NDAs, even when unenforceable, can lead to stress, isolation and long-term career damage. “NDAs should never last indefinitely,” Michael says. “Three years is the maximum I’d recommend. Any longer is usually unenforceable.”

It’s important to be absolutely clear: no NDA can force crew to tolerate or stay silent about illegal, unsafe or abusive behavior. That includes harassment, assault, discrimination, coercion or being asked to perform duties that are unethical or outside the role.

If a captain or owner uses an NDA to intimidate crew into silence — or worse, into compliance — that’s not confidentiality. That’s abuse of power. If in doubt, contact Yacht Crew Help, Nautilus International (for members), the PYA or Changing Tack (when fully operational). All can offer support on NDAs, contracts and crew welfare. Crew can also start with legal or welfare guidance in their country of residence — even if the yacht flies another flag.

“You didn’t sign away your rights,” Angela says. “If something’s wrong, speak up. You don’t need permission  to do the right thing.”