What should you be paying your Captain?
What salary can I expect as a Captain on a superyacht?
These are questions we often get asked at Quay Crew headquarters.
In this blog, the superyacht Captain salaries are revealed in our exclusive Captain recruitment survey by Quay Crew.
Captain Recruitment Specialist, Tim Clarke, reveals some very interesting findings…
The subject of what a Captain should be paid often comes up in conversation, normally with Captains, but recently I was working with the yacht owner on a large new build project and had to recruit everyone from the Captain down. I was asked “What should I pay my Captain?”. I had to advise on salary levels for the Captain position and this made me realise that there isn’t a lot of accurate information out there in the public domain.
So how much should a Captain on a superyacht get paid?
Recently I did a salary survey of Captains which went into significant detail regarding yacht size, program, leave, pay reviews, bonuses, flights and additional perks. 186 Captains responded so we had an excellent spread of data to work with. The full report is actually 41 pages long so this is just a brief summary of the most pertinent information.
Have a Captain recruitment requirement coming up or just want to see all the additional info? To receive a copy in your inbox, email tim@quaycrew.com
Quals
The breakdown of qualifications across the 186 respondents was as follows:
26% Master Unlimited
68% Master 3000gt
6% Master 500gt
Private or Charter?
58% of Captains surveyed said they work on a purely private yacht. 34% on yachts which are a mix of owner use and charter so run commercially. Only 8% work on yachts which are purely commercial / charter programs.
Monthly salary averages for Captains on a superyacht
Average monthly salary for Captains with full rotation:
Under 39m n/a
40m to 49m €12.4k approx.
50m to 59m €11.4k approx.
60m to 69m €13.3k approx.
70m to 79m €14.5k approx.
80m to 89m €16.2k approx.
90m to 99m €18.4k approx.
Over 100m €19.3k approx.
Average monthly salary for Captains who are full time:
Under 39m €10.2k Euros approx.
40m to 49m €11.9k Euros approx.
50m to 59m €15.3k Euros approx.
60m to 69m €16k Euros approx.
70m to 79m €19.2k Euros approx.
80m to 89m €22k Euros approx.
90m to 99m €25k euros approx.
Over 100m €14.5k Euros approx.
Additional Captain salary facts…
When you compare rotational and full time salaries on yachts over 60m, the full time positions average over 2k a month more. Some yachts’ Captain packages are hugely removed from the norm. For example, one 60m to 69m is found to be paying over 25k to a full rotation Captain. No yacht that responded under 39m offers rotation. 36 Captains are earning over 20k a month, the vast majority of which are on purely private yachts.
Captain Rotation
23% of Captains on yachts 40m-49m have a full rotation. This takes a big jump to 53% of yachts 50m -59m. Full rotation peaks at 83% on yachts over 100m.
The average is 63% of Captains on yachts above 50m have full rotation so 92 out of the 147 who worked on yachts from 50m to 100m up.
Captain Recruitment for Superyachts
If you are looking to recruit a Captain for your yacht and want to make sure you are accessing the best talent in the market, then give me a call on +44 7760 202610. Recently I have recruited a variety of Captains for various yachts including a 100m plus new build, a very prestigious 90m, a 60m plus new build just launched and lots more between 50m and 70m. Alternatively if you just want a chat about the Captain market and your current Captain’s compensation package, then just get in touch via phone or via my direct email.
If you are a Captain reading this then here are a couple of links to other blogs I have written which may interest you.
