Author: Sentini Marine
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Know what your crew don’t (before the auditor does). Why continuous familiarisation is vital.
Management companies sit in an uncomfortable middle ground. Owners expect assurance (not just paperwork). Captains expect practical support (not more admin). Flag and Class expect evidence. Yet the typical familiarisation cycle on many yachts still looks like this: That pattern doesn’t fail because people don’t care. It fails because it’s reactive by design and reactive…
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Lithium-ion learnings: what the Flagship yacht fire teaches about battery safety onboard.
When lithium-ion systems work as designed, they’re quiet, clean and efficient powerhouses. When they don’t, the consequences can be catastrophic. In April 2024, the 24.9m catamaran Flagship was destroyed by an explosion and fire while alongside in a Miami shipyard. The yacht was uncrewed at the time, but the incident is a clear warning for…
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Are you safe, or just compliant? An owner’s office checklist for peace of mind.
When you own a yacht, you don’t just buy the vessel, but the assumption that, if something goes wrong at sea, your crew will know exactly what to do. Most of the paperwork around safety is designed to prove compliance: that the right manuals exist, that the drills have been logged, that the audits have…
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From compliant to confident: evidencing ISM 1.2.2.3.
Most yachts prepare well for inspections. The real question is whether the same calm competence appears at 02:10 on a Tuesday when something unexpected happens. A lithium battery begins thermal runaway. The watch keeper knows there’s a procedure, they completed the checklist six weeks ago, but can’t recall the exact isolation sequence. Seconds matter. That…