SUPERYACHTS have been the refuge of the super-rich during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

While ordinary workers across the world suffered the economic effects of multiple lockdowns and others, particularly in healthcare, were saving lives or even risking their own, the wealthy have taken to sea in order to escape lockdowns and travel restrictions. 

Much of the travel and leisure industry has been severely curtailed by governments closing their borders or imposing quarantines on arrivals. 

However, superyachts, which largely operate in international waters, are often exempt from state-based restrictions. 

According to Boats International, the sale of superyachts defined as vessels over 24 metres in length and needing a crew have been rapidly increasing since the summer of 2020. 

They can be up to 180 metres long with prices even for second-hand vessels starting at $10 million, potentially rising to $600m when new. 

In May with most of the world still in some form of lockdown Amazon and Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos bought a $500m superyacht with its own “support yacht” and a helipad.  

During the first wave of the pandemic, Hollywood billionaire David Geffen informed his Instagram followers that he was “isolated in The Grenadines avoiding the virus.” 

However what Geffen did not say was that he was aboard his $590m superyacht The Rising Sun, complete with a cinema, basketball court and wine cellar. 

Wealthy people spent £1 billion in the first five months of 2021 alone on superyachts — a figure that would be enough to vaccinate the whole population of Nepal from coronavirus, something that Oxfam described as “obscene.” 

In the first nine months of this year the prices of superyachts increased 8 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, with 200 new vessels setting sail compared to 165 in the same period two years ago.

While lockdowns have caused economic devastation across the world, the gap between the rich and poor is increasingly exemplified by superyacht sales. According to Forbes, there are now 2,755 billionaires — up by 665 compared to last year. 

Superyachts also need crew to work on them with superyacht crewing costing on average $200,000 a year. However, as TV reality shows such as Below Deck have shown, a subclass of the super-rich below the likes of Bezos and Geffen hire out these ships for short-term cruises. 

These charters as they are known, have increased 340 per cent during the pandemic. 

While super-rich owners have been able to ride out the pandemic and the associated lockdowns in luxury at sea, things have been more difficult for crew. 

However maritime trade union Nautilus International has been supporting its members throughout the Covid crisis. 

Strategic organiser Laura Molineux is keen to emphasis that the spectacular membership growth Nautilus has seen among superyacht workers predated the pandemic. 

This included meeting and recruiting new members at yacht shows and using video technology to keep in touch with them at sea. 

“We have had 250 per cent membership growth in the superyacht industry year on year for the past three years and over 60 per cent of our new joiners from the maritime sector work on yachts,” she says.

“We saw a surge in the membership in the midst of the pandemic as crew were seeking security in a time of uncertainty. 

“Word of mouth is vital, the superyacht department consistently receives positive feedback from our members, and we actively encourage members to spread the word amongst their colleagues.”

According to Molineux, when the pandemic first started Covid-related restrictions had an impact on the mobility of crew as well as pay while some workers lost their jobs. 

“Travel restrictions, quarantines and social distancing restrictions aimed at containing the virus, all had an immediate impact on crew attempting to join vessels, and also the existing onboard crew. 

“The different requirements for each country and constant changes adversely affected the exercise of key Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) rights of seafarers, including the right to repatriation, and the right to take annual leave and shore leave. 

“We saw temporary salary reductions and members being asked to take unpaid leave or having their contract of employment terminated.” 

In such a globalised, international industry the closure of borders caused major issues in an area that relies on a global workforce. 

Crew often work in the Caribbean from October to April and then in the Mediterranean in the summer, a pattern which Molineux explains was severely disrupted.   

“There were obstacles for crew attempting to obtain visas from US embassies. Many were not issuing appointments other than in emergency cases, which meant that crew were unable to travel to work for the Caribbean season. 

“International crew — requiring Schengen — also experienced difficulties due to embassy closures, and crew with existing expiring visas struggled to gain the extensions from the authorities due to restrictions.”

Nautilus prepared information for members to tell them of exemptions from Covid-related travel rules which, as Molineux points out, allowed superyacht crew to plan their travel to and from yachts. 

“Some countries, such as England, Scotland and Wales, have exemptions to travel bans if you are a seafarer. We prepared an article for the Nautilus Telegraph which provides links to all the latest travel guidance and exemptions for the most popular travel destinations so that our members can be confident in organising their travel plans.”

Wages have also been an issue throughout the pandemic, with yacht owners sometimes withholding them during compulsory quarantine period for crew. 

Molineux explains how Nautilus was able to refer members to maritime guidance they could use in pay disputes with owners and were successful in recovering £700,000 in wages for 50 members. 
 
“Some crew were finding their employers withholding salaries during periods of mandatory quarantines or requiring that crew used their accrued annual leave for these periods. 

“Nautilus was able to refer employers to flag state guidance which stated that crew should be considered ‘in service’ of the vessel during such periods and as such, entitled to their salaries. 

“With this support the members were able to have their salary reinstated for these periods.”

During the pandemic superyacht workers have faced long periods in quarantine, contract extensions due to travel bans leading to extensive periods away from loved ones and yacht-based confinement during Covid outbreaks onboard. 

These issues have all raised concerns about the mental health of crew. Molineux argues that Nautilus has responded with a health and support app as well as an emergency helpline which saw a 145 per cent increase in calls in 2020 compared to 2019. 

“Many crew members were being faced with contract extensions and travel bans — this meant not being able to see their family and friends for long periods. 

“Furthermore local restrictions at ports meant that the crew were limited to a localised travel area. When a there is a Covid outbreak onboard this can also result in confinement to small areas of the vessel or a quarantine hotel. 

“Shore leave is vital for crews’ mental health and to have these liberties restricted clearly has a direct negative impact. The yacht sector’s strategic organisers can offer a listening ear and practical support during office hours, and out of hours our members have free access to our 24/7 helpline. 

“Nautilus also offers its members free access to My Healthy Advantage app, a service that can offer 24/7 confidential support, including — but by no way limited to — assistance with health and wellbeing, including counselling support to help with stress, anxiety and low moods.”

Although crew have largely had the cost of Covid testing covered by their employers, a potential issue has developed over vaccines after reports that crew had been offered vaccines by shipowners. Molinueux highlights the up-to-date advice Nautilus can provide.

“We provide links to the World Health Organisation website for details on Covid-19 vaccines, as many have concerns over the safety of the vaccine being used. 

“We can recommend that the employer helps facilitate the member to have the vaccine administered in their home country — however, this is not always practical, with many vaccinations usually taken eight weeks apart. 

“We recommend that they only accept a vaccine that is authorised for use in their home country.”

Billionaires splashing fortunes on superyachts during the worst global pandemic for a century is the nautical equivalent of wealthy countries hoarding vaccines from poorer ones. 

It’s emblematic of the inherent greed and selfishness of the capitalist system which promotes such extreme inequality. 

Trade unions can only tackle such excesses as part of a wider movement, but the work Nautilus has done with superyacht workers is an excellent blueprint for unions in a post-industrial world. 

Trade unionists of the future are much more likely to be working in the knowledge economy or the leisure industry. 

They could be PhD students teaching on insecure contracts, fast-food workers, video game designers, workers on cruise ships, freelance journalists or indeed superyacht workers. Unions will need to change and modernise in order to engage a new generation of post-industrial workers.