The two questions yacht crew with wage disputes ask most often are:
- How do I actually calculate what I’m owed?
- How do I get it back without escalating to a lawyer?
Most existing guidance answers one but not the other. This guide answers both, in sequence.
Part 1 — Calculating what you’re owed
Step 1: Establish the contractual entitlement
What does your SEA actually say you should be paid?
- Monthly salary or day rate specified in your SEA
- Number of months / days worked in the disputed period
- Currency of payment
- Any addendum or amendment signed during the contract
The total contractual entitlement = (monthly salary × months) OR (day rate × days worked) for the disputed period.
Step 2: Establish the actual receipts
What did you actually receive?
- Bank statements for the period — match each deposit to a payslip
- Currency conversions noted (apparent shortfalls often come from currency timing, not bad faith)
- Tips and gratuities noted separately — these are not the same as salary
- Any cash payments (record them, but flag separately — these create their own problems)
The total received = sum of all salary deposits in the contract currency.
Step 3: The shortfall
Contractual entitlement minus actual received = your shortfall.
A few situations where this calculation gets more complex:
- Mixed monthly + day rate periods (common during charter season)
- Currency fluctuations affecting actual received vs contractual entitlement
- Disputed leave inclusions or exclusions
- Deductions for medicals, training, or “company costs” that may or may not be legitimate
In these cases, a structured calculation table — separating each pay period and each component — produces a much clearer picture than a single shortfall figure.
Part 2 — Claiming what you’re owed
Knowing the number is half the work. Recovering it is the other half.
The core principle: stay pre-legal as long as possible
Most yacht wage disputes that end up in maritime court could have been resolved without it — if handled in the first 14–30 days, with structured documentation and the right communication.
Going to a lawyer too early triggers formal escalation: industry attention, employer-side legal posturing, and adversarial dynamics that make recovery harder, not easier. Most crew skip the pre-legal layer not because they prefer to escalate, but because they don’t know it exists.
The pre-legal recovery path
Stage 1: Confirm the shortfall is real. Run the calculation above. Cross-check with bank statements. If the gap holds up, document it.
Stage 2: Raise it in writing. A calm, factual message to the captain or HOD identifying the specific shortfall, with dates and amounts. Not an accusation. A request for clarification.
Stage 3: Document the response. Whatever they say — written, verbal, vague — record it. If verbal, send a follow-up email summarizing what was said.
Stage 4: If the response doesn’t resolve it. A second message identifying the remaining gap, with a reasonable deadline.
Stage 5: If still unresolved. This is the moment where structured documentation matters most. A pre-legal pack that includes the calculation, the contractual basis, the MLC framework, the communication trail, and a draft escalation message. This often resolves the situation without any further escalation needed — because the employer side now sees that the crew member has organized evidence and knows their rights.
When to actually go to a lawyer
Some situations warrant skipping the pre-legal path and going directly to a maritime employment lawyer:
- Amounts above €20,000–25,000 where lawyer costs make economic sense
- Suspected vessel abandonment or insolvency — these are time-sensitive
- Criminal elements (theft, fraud, document forgery)
- The employer is already represented by counsel in the dispute
- You’ve completed the pre-legal path and the employer is non-responsive
For the other ~80% of yacht wage disputes, the pre-legal path is faster, cheaper, and more often successful.
What MLC 2006 says about wage recovery
Under MLC 2006 Standard A2.2:
“Each Member shall ensure that seafarers’ wages are paid in full and at no greater than monthly intervals.”
If your wages have not been paid in full, your flag state has obligations to investigate and enforce. The complaint procedure varies by flag — Cayman, Marshall Islands, Malta, and the UK MCA all have published procedures.
You don’t need to file a flag state complaint as your first move. Often, simply referencing MLC compliance in your written correspondence — calmly, factually — is enough to shift the response.
Common situations
Situation A: Salary chronically late but eventually paid. This is technically MLC non-compliance even if no money is “missing.” Document each delay. Patterns matter.
Situation B: One large unpaid period at end of contract. The most common and most recoverable. Structured documentation usually resolves it.
Situation C: Disputed deductions during contract. Was the deduction agreed in writing? If not, it’s likely recoverable.
Situation D: Ongoing partial payments. The vessel may have cash flow issues. Your priority is documenting each partial payment carefully and not waiving rights to the balance.
Situation E: Cash payments outside payroll. Document these but understand they create tax and documentation problems for you, not the employer. Try to move all payment back through formal payroll.
→ Free Pay Check Calculator — automatically calculates contract vs received. [Link]
→ Pay & Leave Review Pack — turns your numbers and documentation into a structured recovery pack. [Link]
