Cornerstone Crew Management

In November ‘24 I posted about the impasse surrounding the 59M Royal Huisman yacht PHI. She is currently impounded in Tower Bridge as legal arguments rage over the true ultimate economic beneficial owner of the corporate holding structure - with potential Sanctions breaking implications. The UK Supreme Court is due to hold the appeal hearing, starting on 16 January 2025. Its hoped that clarity will finally be given to the position, given the yacht remains uninsured, her Class has lapsed and she remains festooned with scaffolding! The case will be an interesting legal argument and potentially cast a shadow over the UK’s implementation of its own Sanctions Legislation. Grant Schapps’ (UK Transport Secretary at the time) comments that this was ”…a clear warning to Putin and his cronies" may come back to haunt him. Watch this space! #myphi #sanctions #cronies

No one does finesse like the Italians....or umph like the Germans! ##bootdusseldorf

let's go!! #bootdusseldorf #personalisedprotectedpayroll

travel essentials! Dusseldorf here I come! #bootdusseldorf

New year, same old problems!! Three yachts were badly damaged this week in Port de la Lave, Marseilles. The source of the fire appears to have been the 27m Leopard yacht NAISCA IV, the fire spread to two yachts in close proximity. With the flames causing some of the mooring lines to snap, firefighters were hampered by the drifting targets! 19 fire appliances and 63 firefighters were involved in bringing the blazer under control as the Port Authorities enabled pollution prevention measures. Thankfully there were no reported human casualties and a full investigation is now underway. Not the start to 2025 that Underwriters were hoping for! #emergenypreparedness #fire #yachtinsurance 

When does AutoPilot become more Auto than Pilot? AI is anywhere and everywhere at the same time – only a matter of time therefore before it pervades the marine industry. As this article in The Maritime Executive https://lnkd.in/e9xEKx-t indicates, the future is now. As with all things centered around machine learning there needs to be a note of caution. Are Captain-less ships an inevitable outcome of this or is that a dystopian step too far? The truth is somewhere in-between but with leaps in AI technology and with “Willow” quantum chips on the horizon, its going to be an exponential process.

Congratulations to Charlie Dalin on MACIF Santé Prévoyance who has won the Vendée Globe 2024-25, finishing at 07:24:49 UTC on Tuesday 14th January. With a time of 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes, 49 seconds he beat the previous best by 9 days, 8 hours, 12 minutes and 57 seconds. That's some serious consistent speed!! Bravo Charlie!

As we venture in 2025 and with #bootdusseldorf just around the corner, thought it wise to remind everyone of what we can do #cornerstone #personalisedprotectedpayroll #localserviceglobalreach

Another update in the weird and wonderful world of yachts held under the worldwide “Russia links” sanctions. With the PHI case in the UK gathering some momentum to resolution, the protracted disputed sale issues surrounding Alfa Nero in Antigua has finally yielded some good news for the crew at least. A court decision in December 2024 has finally allowed the release of £890,000 to Nautilus International, the crew’s Union, which can then be cascaded down to the crew themselves. Not without its own controversy however, as Nautilus claims a further £310,000 due to the alleged Court miscalculation of the wage roll, it’s great to see some movement in this issue with the crew finally receiving what they are due. Crew are once again caught in the crossfire of geopolitical sanctions legislation – with Union membership definitely of benefit in this case. The ownership argument however still rumbles on……. #alfanero #crewunion #nautilus #sanctions

We were half way through our Xmas party when Dave Kneen and John Stevens got the shout on this one! Cutlery down and back to the office 😄. Some nice words through from the broker! #itswhatwedo #exceedingexpectations #happycustomers #PersonalisedProtectedPayroll