Terms & Conditions

YACHT WORKERS COUNCIL PROFESSIONAL REGISTRY AND DIGITAL PASSPORT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Overview

This Terms and Conditions document (the "Terms") outlines the expected service of Yacht Workers Council Ltd (YWC) and the obligations of users subscribing to the service. By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

1. Definitions

2. Nature of service

YWC provides a professional registry and data aggregation platform for the yachting industry.

• YWC does not employ, place, or guarantee employment for Users or Crew Members.
• YWC does not replace regulatory or statutory bodies.
• YWC operates solely as a verification and presentation layer for Data.
• YWC accepts no liability for employment outcomes or hiring decisions made by Users or third parties.
• YWC's service is strictly limited to data verification and presentation, and Users acknowledge YWC is not a party to any employment contract or negotiation.

3. User responsibilities and account security

Users must ensure that all submitted Data is accurate, lawful, and up to date.

• Users bear sole responsibility for the validity and integrity of submitted Data.
• YWC is not liable for consequences arising from false, misleading, or unlawful information submitted by the User.
• Users must create a strong, unique password for their account (e.g., at least 12 characters, avoiding personal information) and are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their login credentials.
• Users must maintain current recovery information (such as a recovery email or phone number) to ensure account access and security.

4. Verification and data standards

The attainment of a Verified Status is based on available Data and third-party validation processes.

• Verification does not constitute a guarantee or certification of competence or suitability.
• Verified Status is an assessment of documentation and is not an endorsement by YWC.
• Submitted identification documents (e.g., Passport/ID) must be clear, in color, show all four corners of the document, and be in a standard image file format (.jpg or .png) to be accepted for verification.
• To maintain data integrity and platform security, YWC may require periodic re-verification of key compliance and identity documents.

5. Data and privacy

Upon registration and subscription, the following Data is required from individual Crew Members:

• Identity Data: Name, Date of Birth (DOB), nationality, and contact details.
• Verification Data: Passport/ID (securely stored) and certification documents.
• Employment Data: Sea service records, vessel history, and roles held.
• Compliance Data: Certificate validity and training records.
• Optional Data: References, endorsements, and professional notes.

Rules regarding Data:

• Users retain control over the visibility of their Data on the Platform.
• Data is shared only with the User's explicit consent or where required by legal obligation.
• YWC is not responsible for third-party misuse of Data once access has been granted by the User.
• Where legally permissible and practical, Crew Members have the right to block out non-essential personal data on verification documents (such as photos or specific government identification numbers) before submission, provided the primary fields (name, DOB, document validity) remain visible and verifiable.
• YWC will employ reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect Data against unauthorised access, use, or disclosure, including data encryption and secure storage practices.

6. Third party integrations

YWC integrates with external providers to enhance Platform functionality.

• YWC is not liable for the performance, reliability, or data accuracy provided by Third Party Providers.
• All data received from Third Party Providers is provided "as is".
• Specific integrations include Google Cloud Services for Tesseract OCR and Google Vision API, integrated on a scan and delete basis, to ensure secure and efficient information/file transfer.
• YWC commits to exercising due diligence in the selection of Third Party Providers and ensuring that data transfers utilise appropriate safeguards, such as data encryption and compliance with relevant data processing agreements.
• Google Analytics & Ads are used by YWC to enhance user experience and performance.
  1. Opt-Out: Users can withdraw consent at any time via our Cookie Settings or by using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout
  2. Third-Party Link: Refer to Google's Privacy & Terms for details on how they process your data: https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites

7. Limitation of liability

YWC is not liable for any employment decisions, financial loss, or reputational damage incurred by the User or Crew Member.

• The total cumulative liability of YWC to any User under these Terms is capped at the total subscription fees paid by that User to YWC in the previous 12 months.

8. Indemnity

Users agree to indemnify and hold YWC harmless against any claims, losses, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including legal fees) arising from the User's misuse of the Platform, submission of false Data, or breaches of legal obligations.

9. Membership and payment

Subscription fees apply for access to and use of the Platform services.

• YWC may change its pricing structure and subscription fees with prior written notice to Users.
• YWC reserves the right to suspend or terminate Platform access for non-payment of fees.
• The payment of subscription fees provides access to the Platform services but does not provide any guarantee of employment.

10. Suspension and termination

YWC may, at its sole discretion, suspend or terminate a User's account and access to the Platform where YWC identifies:

• A risk to the security or integrity of the Platform.
• Misuse of the Platform.
• The submission of false or misleading information.
• Repeated or serious violations of the professional conduct standards outlined in Section 13.

11. Platform availability

The Platform is provided "as available". YWC provides no guarantees of uninterrupted uptime or error-free operation.

• Users are responsible for ensuring they meet the minimum technical requirements for Platform access, including using an updated web browser and having JavaScript enabled, to prevent conflicts or poor user experience.

12. Intellectual property

All systems, content, design, and intellectual property rights relating to the Platform remain the exclusive property of YWC.

• Users may not replicate, exploit, or derive secondary works from the Platform Data, systems, or content without the express written permission of YWC.

13. Professional conduct

Users must adhere to standards of professional conduct when using the Platform.

• Users must not harass, abuse, defame, or mislead other Users.
• Users must not upload or share unlawful, offensive, or harmful content.
• Users must not engage in any activity that could be construed as coordinated deceptive practices or the misrepresentation of their identity or qualifications on the Platform.

14. YWC platform community conduct

By submitting a review, rating, comment, or feedback on the Platform, you agree to the following conditions:

14.1 Genuine experience

All reviews must be based on your own genuine personal experience with the vessel, employer, recruiter, training provider, contractor, or individual concerned. You must not submit false, misleading, fabricated, or intentionally deceptive content.

14.2 Respectful conduct

Reviews must remain professional and respectful at all times. The following content is strictly prohibited:

• Abusive, threatening, or harassing language
• Hate speech or discriminatory remarks
• Personal attacks
• Sexually explicit content
• Publication of private or confidential information
• Attempts to intimidate, blackmail, or damage reputations maliciously

14.3 No unverified allegations

Users must not post allegations of criminal conduct, fraud, illegal activity, substance abuse, harassment, violence, discrimination, or professional misconduct unless such matters have been formally proven or are supported by verifiable evidence. Statements presented as fact may be removed where they cannot reasonably be substantiated.

14.4 Honest opinion

Reviews should be framed as personal opinion and experience where appropriate (for example, "In my experience…", "I felt…", "Communication could have been better…") rather than definitive statements presented as undisputed fact.

14.5 Moderation rights

YWC reserves the absolute right to:

• Review, moderate, edit, refuse, suspend, or remove any review or content at its sole discretion;
• Remove content considered defamatory, misleading, malicious, abusive, legally sensitive, or damaging to the integrity of the Platform;
• Suspend or terminate accounts found to be abusing the review system.

YWC is under no obligation to publish all submitted reviews.

14.6 Right of reply

Relevant businesses, vessels, employers, recruiters, or service providers may be given the opportunity to respond to reviews submitted about them.

14.7 Legal responsibility

Users remain solely responsible for the content they submit. By posting content, you confirm:

• You have the legal right to publish it;
• The information is truthful to the best of your knowledge;
• The content does not knowingly breach defamation, confidentiality, privacy, employment, or other applicable laws.

14.8 Reporting & removal requests

If any individual or organisation believes content published on the Platform is inaccurate, defamatory, misleading, or unlawful, they may contact YWC requesting review and investigation of the material. YWC reserves the right to temporarily remove disputed content pending review.

14.9 Platform community purpose

The review system exists to improve transparency, professionalism, accountability, and standards within the industry. It is not intended to facilitate personal disputes, retaliation, harassment, or reputational attacks.

14.10 Acceptance

By submitting a review or using the Platform's feedback features, you acknowledge and agree to these Review & Feedback Terms.

15. Disputes

YWC is not a party to, and holds no legal or fiduciary responsibility for, disputes that may arise between Users or between Users and third parties (e.g., employers).

16. Governing law

These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

17. Amendments

YWC reserves the right to update or modify these Terms at any time. Continued use of the Platform after the posting of any changes constitutes acceptance of the new or revised Terms. The date of the most recent amendment is shown below:

Date 19/05/2026

18. No warranties ("as is" and "as available")

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Platform, the Data, and any Verified Status, report, or profile are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory.

• YWC does not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, or that any Data, verification result, or report is accurate, complete, current, or fit for any particular purpose.
• All implied warranties, conditions, and terms (including as to satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement) are excluded to the maximum extent permitted by law.
• Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits YWC's liability for death or personal injury caused by its negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

19. No professional advice & assumption of risk

YWC is a verification and presentation layer only. A Verified Status, report, or profile is not professional, legal, medical, safety, or regulatory advice, and is not a certification of competence, qualification, seaworthiness, or fitness to work.

• Users, and any third party relying on Data, do so at their own risk and remain solely responsible for their own due diligence and for compliance with all applicable laws and regulatory requirements (including flag-state, MLC 2006, and STCW obligations).
• YWC accepts no liability for any decision taken, or not taken, in reliance on the Platform or any Data.

20. Liability for user content & takedown

Reviews, ratings, comments, and other content submitted by Users ("User Content") are the sole responsibility of the User who submitted them and do not represent the views of YWC.

• YWC acts only as a host of User Content and does not monitor, endorse, adopt, or verify it before publication.
• Where YWC is notified that User Content may be inaccurate, defamatory, infringing, or unlawful, YWC may remove or suspend it pending review without liability, in accordance with Section 14.
• To report content, contact [placeholder: [email protected]]. This Section operates in addition to, and does not limit, any protection available to YWC as a hosting provider under applicable law.

21. Force majeure

YWC shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, war, terrorism, civil unrest, epidemic or pandemic, strikes, failure of utilities, internet, or hosting providers, cyber-attack, or changes in applicable law.

22. Your statutory rights (consumers)

Where you use the Platform as a consumer, nothing in these Terms affects your mandatory statutory rights under applicable consumer-protection law (including, in the United Kingdom, the Consumer Rights Act 2015) that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

23. General provisions

23.1 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force, and the invalid provision will be replaced by a valid provision that most closely reflects the original intent.

23.2 Entire agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and any documents expressly referred to in them, constitute the entire agreement between you and YWC and supersede any prior agreements, save that nothing limits liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

23.3 No waiver

No failure or delay by YWC in exercising any right under these Terms is a waiver of that right, and no single or partial exercise prevents any further exercise.

23.4 Assignment & subcontracting

YWC may assign, transfer, charge, or subcontract any of its rights or obligations under these Terms. You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations without YWC's prior written consent.

23.5 No third-party rights

Except as expressly stated, a person who is not a party to these Terms has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any of its terms.

23.6 Notices

YWC may give notice to you via the email address associated with your account or by posting on the Platform. Formal legal notices to YWC must be sent in writing to its registered office at 167-169 Great Portland Street, 5th Floor, London, England, W1W 5PF.

24. Eligibility & capacity

You must be at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms. If you use the Platform on behalf of an organisation, you warrant that you have authority to bind that organisation, in which case "you" refers to that organisation.

25. Feedback licence

If you provide suggestions, ideas, or feedback about the Platform, you grant YWC a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free licence to use, incorporate, and exploit them without restriction or compensation.

26. Sanctions, export control & anti-bribery

You represent that you are not located in, or a national or resident of, any country subject to comprehensive trade sanctions, and that you are not on any restricted-party or sanctions list. You agree to comply with all applicable anti-bribery, anti-money-laundering, export-control, and sanctions laws when using the Platform.

27. Dispute resolution & jurisdiction

Before commencing court proceedings, the parties will attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute informally by contacting [placeholder: [email protected]].

• These Terms, their subject matter, and their formation are governed by the laws of England and Wales (see Section 16), and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim.
• To the extent permitted by applicable law, any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms must be brought within 12 months of the event giving rise to it, after which it is permanently barred.

28. Survival

The provisions relating to Nature of Service, Limitation of Liability, Indemnity, Intellectual Property, No Warranties, No Professional Advice, Liability for User Content, Dispute Resolution & Jurisdiction, and any other provision that by its nature is intended to survive, will continue in effect after termination of your account or of these Terms.

29. How to contact us

Yacht Workers Council Ltd, 167-169 Great Portland Street, 5th Floor, London, England, W1W 5PF. Email: [placeholder: [email protected]].