Superyacht Guide Crew
Superyacht Crew Salaries and Pay
There is no official worldwide superyacht salary table that fixes pay for captains, deckhands, engineers, stewards or chefs. This guide therefore separates formal wage protections and the ILO able-seafarer benchmark from unsupported claims about universal yacht market rates.
Pay starts with the employment agreement
Where the MLC applies, seafarers are to be paid regularly and in full in accordance with their employment agreement and any applicable collective agreement. Payments are to be made at no greater than monthly intervals.
Seafarers are also to receive a monthly account showing payments due and amounts paid, including additional payments and relevant exchange-rate information where a different currency or rate has been used. This makes the written pay basis as important as the headline salary figure.
Basic pay and consolidated wages are different
MLC guidance distinguishes basic pay from consolidated wages. Basic pay covers normal hours of work, while a consolidated wage can combine basic pay with some or all additional pay-related benefits.
Two offers with the same headline monthly figure can therefore represent different employment terms. Crew should establish what is included before comparing one employment agreement with another.
The ILO able-seafarer benchmark
The ILO Joint Maritime Commission process sets a minimum monthly basic wage figure for an able seafarer. The figure is US$690 from 1 January 2026, with agreed increases to US$704 from 1 January 2027 and US$715 from 1 January 2028.
This figure is not a universal statutory minimum salary for every superyacht role and should not be presented as one. It is an ILO able-seafarer basic-wage benchmark within the MLC guidance framework, while actual legal and contractual pay can depend on flag-state law and employment agreements.
Why this guide does not publish an invented yacht salary table
Official international instruments do not set a single global pay scale for every superyacht job title. Publishing precise captain, stewardess, deckhand or engineer market ranges without a current defensible primary dataset would turn an estimate into an apparent fact.
Superyacht Guide therefore treats role-specific market pay as a separate evidence problem. This page will be updated with additional salary ranges only when a reliable primary dataset with a clear date and methodology is available.
Check the complete remuneration package
The employment agreement should make the pay basis clear enough for crew to understand what is due and when it is due. Currency, additional payments, deductions and any consolidated elements should be reviewed together rather than relying on one monthly number.
Wage questions also sit alongside leave, repatriation and other employment rights under the applicable legal framework. Crew should check the yacht's flag-state requirements and the exact terms of the agreement before joining.
Primary sources
The regulatory references below are official primary sources used for this guide.