YPI CREW
- Apr 23, 2013
- 2 min read

It has been five years in preparation but today Laurence Lewis is delighted to announce that YPI Crew has been awarded full MLC 2006 accreditation by the Lloyd’s Register.

Laurence Lewis, director of YPI Crew, and her team have been taking an active interest in the development of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006) from a very early stage. "We could see that once in place, the MLC 2006 was going to affect the lives of yacht crew worldwide," she explains. "I wanted to make sure YPI Crew was a major part of it from the start."

The team has been attending and taking part in conferences and seminars since 2008 including those given by the Lloyds Maritime Academy in London and various other sessions in France including an MLC 2006 conference in Nantes chaired by the director of the International Labour Standards Department, Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry. "We've been involved in exchanges at the very highest level."

With two YPI Crew recruiters completing an intensive two-day training with GL Academia, Laurence's aim has been to ensure every member of the team is trained to the highest standard on all aspects of the MLC.

"It is important because for the first time owners and crew now know where they stand on all important employment elements. The convention has set down a basic framework allowing for an honest transparency between all parties. I believe that will result in significantly improved relations which in turn, will have a direct effect on how well the yachts are run and indeed on the quality of charter service offered."

But what are the advantages for owners and captains in using an MLC 2006 accredited yacht crew recruitment agency such as YPI Crew?

"It can help speed up a Flag State or Port State Control inspection," explains Laurence. "The use of a licensed, certified or regulated private recruitment and placement agency is one of the 14 points which are subject to inspection.* It is also confirms that the yacht crew placed by the agency are qualified; that the crew agency is not charging crew for representing them or assisting them in securing employment; that the crew agency is not blacklisting and that the crew agency is operated in an orderly fashion."