Flying Fish, the MCA and RYA maritime training provider based in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, has joined Nautilus International as a strategic partner for maritime training and tax.

Nautilus is the global trade union and professional organisation for maritime professionals, supporting more than 20,000 maritime professionals worldwide. It is the world’s leading specialist union for superyacht crew, representing crew of every rank and nationality.

Through the partnership, Flying Fish is now listed in two areas of the Nautilus partner network: as a recommended provider of maritime training, and, through Flying Fish Tax, as one of a small number of specialist advisers helping seafarers with their tax affairs.

A shared commitment to crew welfare

The partnership brings together two organisations focused on the same thing: making sure people who work at sea are well trained, properly supported and treated fairly.

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome Flying Fish into our network of strategic partners. Both Nautilus International and Flying Fish share a deep, fundamental commitment to promoting professionalism, safety, and crew welfare across the superyacht industry. We are looking forward to working collaboratively with the team at Flying Fish to champion high employment standards and ensure that maritime professionals feel supported, valued, and protected throughout their careers at sea.”
Laura Hesketh, Strategic Organiser, Nautilus International

“Joining as a Nautilus partner is a natural fit for us. We train new superyacht crew every week here in the UK, and making sure our customers are properly supported once they are out at sea matters just as much to us as the training itself. Nautilus does vital work for maritime professionals, and we are proud to be part of that.”
Andy Hunt, Owner, Flying Fish

What Nautilus does for maritime professionals

A career at sea brings challenges that most jobs ashore never do. Crew can face unfair treatment, contract and pay disputes, poor working conditions, safety concerns and fast-moving changes across the industry, often while thousands of miles from home.

Nautilus exists to help with all of that. The union supports its members around the clock and around the world. For new crew, that means:

  • Expert contract advice: specialist guidance on your Seafarer Employment Agreement (SEA) and your rights under the Maritime Labour Convention, so you know where you stand before problems start
  • Someone to fight your corner: Nautilus’s dedicated Yacht team can raise issues directly with your employer, management company or owner’s representative, mediate disputes and help you escalate formal complaints
  • Legal support worldwide: access to legal assistance and representation for employment disputes, withheld wages and work-related injuries, wherever you are
  • Ticket protection: financial protection for loss of income if your Certificate of Competency is cancelled, suspended or downgraded following a formal inquiry
  • Career tools: online sea service verification to record and calculate your qualifying sea time, plus full access to the members-only Yacht Hub

What the partnership means for Flying Fish customers

Training

Flying Fish trains new superyacht crew every week, from STCW Basic Safety Training to Deckhand and Stewardess career training through to Yachtmaster courses. As a Nautilus training partner, our courses are now recommended to Nautilus members looking to start or build their careers at sea.

Seafarer tax

Flying Fish Tax helps seafarers claim the Seafarers’ Earnings Deduction (SED) and stay on top of their UK tax returns. We are one of the specialist seafarer tax advisers listed by Nautilus, and Nautilus members get exclusive partner rates on our tax service.

Why we tell every student to join Nautilus

We recommend that every Flying Fish student joins Nautilus as soon as they start their career at sea.

Good training gets you on board. Having an organisation in your corner when something goes wrong keeps you protected once you are there.

For new crew especially, the problems tend to come out of nowhere. A salary paid late, or not at all. A contract that changes once you are on board. Being let go in a foreign port with no flight home. Working hours that leave no time to rest. These are the moments when you need someone experienced on your side, and Nautilus members have that support wherever they are in the world.

Flying Fish graduates can also get 30% off their Nautilus membership.