The regulatory framework
- SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW, the Load Line Convention and the Large Yacht Code — the conventions and code the yacht meets.
- The ISM Code and the yacht's Safety Management System — within which the Master has overriding authority and responsibility to act for safety.
- The ISPS Code and ship security — the Ship Security Plan and the Master's role and authority in it.
- The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) — hours of rest, accommodation, and the welfare and rights of the crew.
The management-level Master does not just follow these instruments but runs the yacht within them: implementing the Safety Management System, holding the ISM overriding authority to make safety decisions and to call on the company for support, acting as the link in the security chain under ISPS, and protecting the crew's rights and rest under the MLC. Command is exercised through the framework, using it as the structure that keeps the ship safe, legal and well run.
NOTE — The Master's overriding authority Under the ISM Code the Master has overriding authority and responsibility to make decisions for the safety of the yacht and the protection of the marine environment, and to request the company's assistance — and must be prepared to use it against commercial pressure.
WARNING — Compliance is command, not paperwork Certificates lapsing, drills skipped, rest hours breached — these are command failures, not admin oversights. The Master builds the surveys, drills and records into the running of the ship so nothing is left to chance or to a surveyor's visit.