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/tritonnews | www.The-Triton.com | September 2017
Judge rules for crew, but no cash in sight By Dorie Cox At the start of a new job, many crew are asked to sign a contract that defines wages, scope of work, leave and more. For charter vessels, the commercial status of the yacht requires these contracts in most cases. Such a detailed legal document is designed to prevent problems, clearly spelling out what should happen when crew are fired or resign. Capt. Rusty Allen and the crew of the 216-foot Oceanco M/Y Natita found that not to be the case when they were let go at the end of January. While their wages had been paid, their contracts provided for severance payment, as well as earned vacation pay. But the owner was in financial difficulties and did not make those payments, neither to the crew nor to the bank. (See “Natita seized for nonpayment,” Page 1). “All crew think, ‘I have a contract, so I’m protected,’” Capt. Allen said. “Problem is, that’s not true. When an owner decides not to pay, bam, nothing you can do. The only way to do anything is to go to court, get an attorney – and that’s not cheap.” Capt. Allen had decades of experience running vessels, even serving
M/Y Natita seized at boatyard M/Y Natita, a 217-foot (66m) Oceanco launched in 2005, was seized on July 15 after the owner, Texas oilman William Kallop, failed to make payments on a loan against
the yacht. Court filings show that Kallop borrowed $32 million from Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs Group’s private bank in 2014, See NATITA, page 35
Dorie Cox
The death of a yacht crew member is not a topic most people want to discuss over lunch, but recent obituaries spurred the question of how yacht captains handle such incidents. Every captain at this month's Triton From the Bridge lunch had seen a death during
Updates from around the world M/Y If Only burns in Nice; Great Barrier Reef opens to yachts; captain’s license suspended. 9-12
Cruising Grounds
Patagonia beauty stunning Boldly go where few trek: tips to take south to the bottom of the world
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TRITON PHOTO
as general manager of the owner’s fleet of yachts, including M/Y Natita II, M/Y Bad Girl and M/Y Mystere. He never thought he would have employment contract issues.
Neither did Capt. Janz Staats, who is navigating nonpayment of wages by a yacht owner. He asked that the vessel not be named because of ongoing legal See CONTRACTS, page 31
Fine balance of compassion, duty when crew die From the Bridge
News
their early commercial, military, dive and fishing boat experience, but none during their jobs in yachting. Recollections from personal knowledge and hearsay quickly poured out. "There was a young engineer on an old steel yacht with a 110-volt system,” one captain said. “It had a string of batteries. He did something and” – the captain clapped his hands – “dead. I remember hearing the crew fell
completely apart. The captain was fired. And all that's secondary to the young man's experience himself of dying." Individual comments are not attributed to any particular person in order to encourage candid discussion. The attending captains are identified in an accompanying photograph. Many of the captains spoke about the effect that having a crew member die has
See BRIDGE, page 26
Crew News Crew to ride 1,400km for charity Captain and engineer take fight against cancer to the road 5 between London, Antibes.
Obituaries Yacht community mourns the deaths of a chef and two engineers. 6,8,9
Events Triton Networking Yachting calendar
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