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Shoreside
Designated Person Ashore (DPA)
The DPA is the shore link required by the ISM Code, making sure each managed yacht runs its Safety Management System properly and that captains have direct access to top management when something goes wrong.
- Department
- Shoreside
- Reports to
- Managing Director of the management company
- Yacht size
- Shore based
- Contract
- Permanent, shore based
- Starting pay
- €70,000 a year
What the job is
The ISM Code requires every company operating a yacht over 500gt to appoint a Designated Person Ashore. You are the link between the captains and the highest level of management. Your job is to monitor the safety and pollution prevention side of each yacht, and to make sure the right shore resources and support are there when a captain needs them. In practice you look after a fleet of managed yachts, often ten to forty of them.
Most of the work is about the Safety Management System. You review incident and near miss reports, track non conformities, check drill records and keep procedures current with flag and class rules. You run internal audits on board, usually once a year per yacht, and prepare captains for flag, class and port state inspections. When something serious happens, a fire, a crew injury, a grounding, you are the person the captain calls first, day or night.
Most DPAs are former captains or chief officers who want to stay in the industry without going to sea. Owners and management companies look for real command experience because you have to be credible with captains and confident telling them when something is not right. The job needs calm judgement, good writing and the patience to chase paperwork. It also means carrying a phone that can ring at 03:00 from any time zone where your yachts are cruising.
What makes a good one
- Deep working knowledge of the ISM Code
- Calm judgement in an emergency
- Clear report and procedure writing
- Auditing and tactful follow up
- Credibility with captains and owners
A day in the life
- 08:00Check overnight emails and the on call log. A 65m yacht in the Bahamas reported a minor engine room fire, extinguished, no injuries.
- 08:45Call the captain to confirm the facts, check the crew are fine and agree what goes in the incident report for flag.
- 10:00Review the week's near miss reports from the fleet and close out three non conformities from last month's internal audits.
- 11:30Video call with a chief officer preparing for a Red Ensign flag inspection. Go through drill records, garbage logs and the crew hours of rest.
- 13:00Lunch near the port, which usually turns into a chat with a captain whose yacht is alongside in Port Vauban.
- 14:00Rewrite the hot work procedure in the Safety Management System after the fire, then send the revision to every captain in the fleet.
- 15:30Plan next week's internal audit on a 50m motor yacht in Palma and book flights and the audit checklist.
- 16:30Management review meeting with the managing director on fleet incident trends and two yachts behind on certificate renewals.
- 18:30Hand over the office and keep the DPA phone on for the night, as yachts in the Caribbean are just starting their day.
Pay by country
Annual gross salary for a full time, shore based DPA covering a fleet of managed yachts over 500gt. Higher figures for DPAs who also act as Company Security Officer or manage a large fleet. No charter tips. On call allowances and travel expenses are sometimes added.
- France and Monaco
- €75,000 – 100,000
- Spain
- €55,000 – 80,000
- Italy
- €55,000 – 78,000
- United Kingdom
- £60,000 – 85,000
- USA (Florida)
- US$95,000 – 140,000
- Caribbean
- US$70,000 – 100,000
- UAE
- AED 330,000 – 480,000
- Australia
- A$120,000 – 160,000
- New Zealand
- NZ$110,000 – 145,000
Required
- DPA training course
- ISM Internal Auditor course
- Master (Yacht) 500gt or higher
- Senior seagoing command or officer experience
Recommended
- Master (Yacht) 3000gt
- Company Security Officer course
- ISM Lead Auditor course
- NEBOSH General Certificate
- Medical Care
- GMDSS GOC
Visas
- Right to work in the country of the management office (EU passport or residence permit for France, Monaco, Spain or Italy)
- UK right to work for UK based offices
- US work authorisation for Florida offices
- Schengen access for audits in the Mediterranean
- US B1/B2 for business visits to yachts in the US
Where it leads
- Second Officer
- Chief Officer / First Mate
- Yacht Captain
- Yacht Safety Manager
- Designated Person Ashore (DPA)
- Yacht Compliance Manager
- Fleet Manager
Designated Person Ashore (DPA) jobs open now
Questions crew ask
Do I need to have been a captain to become a DPA?
Not always by law, but most employers want a Master (Yacht) ticket and command or chief officer experience. Captains need to trust that you understand life on board, and that credibility is hard to get without sea time.
Is the DPA really on call all the time?
Someone must always be reachable, so you share a 24/7 rota with a deputy DPA or colleagues. On your weeks the phone stays with you, and serious incidents do happen at night.
How many yachts does one DPA look after?
It depends on the company, but ten to forty yachts is common. Larger management companies split the fleet between several DPAs with a lead DPA above them.