Crew Safety, Abuse and Accountability in Yachting | Protecting Crew Lives | The Crew Car

Crew safety in yachting is becoming one of the most urgent conversations in the maritime industry.

In this episode of The Crew Car, Captain James Battey speaks with Nikki Coetzer and Charni Johnson, founders of Protecting Crew Lives (PCL) — an initiative created after the tragic loss of a young yacht crew member that sent shockwaves through the global yachting community.

What began as a response to one tragedy quickly exposed a deeper issue within the superyacht industry. Crew from around the world began sharing stories of bullying, harassment, assault, toxic onboard cultures and environments where reporting abuse can feel impossible.

This conversation explores the structural challenges affecting crew welfare across the yachting sector, including jurisdictional complexity at sea, gaps in background checks, fear of retaliation when reporting incidents and the misuse of NDAs.

Yachting offers extraordinary careers and opportunities, but protecting the people who make the industry run must become a priority across the entire maritime sector.

In this episode:

• Why Protecting Crew Lives was created
 • The tragic event that sparked the movement
 • Abuse, harassment and bullying in yachting
 • Why crew often feel unable to report incidents
 • Background checks and hiring gaps in the industry
 • Toxic leadership and unsafe onboard environments
 • NDA myths and legal responsibilities at sea
 • What real accountability in yachting should look like

This episode is essential listening for yacht crew, captains, owners, yacht managers and maritime professionals working to create safer environments across the superyacht industry.

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