In an industry often glamorised by reality television shows and the glimmer of luxury yachts, the darker realities of the superyachting world are hidden beneath the surface.

Elle Fisher, originally from Durban but now residing in Mexico, chose to leave a 12-year career in superyachting after enduring relentless abuse and harassment.

Fisher’s decision to come forward reveals a troubling culture within an industry that prioritises reputation over the welfare of its crew.

This follows the recent murder of South African stewardess Paige Bell, who was allegedly killed by a fellow crewman in the engine room of the superyacht ‘Far From It’ in the Bahamas, just days before her 21st birthday.

A 28-year-old South African woman is currently recovering in a Miami hospital after a reported multiple stabbing incident on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship last week. The assailant, also a South African crew member, reportedly jumped overboard after the attack.

Meanwhile, a new Netflix documentary revisits the 1998 cold case of American Amy Bradley, who disappeared during a Caribbean cruise to Curaçao.

Fisher noted a decade-long, exponential rise in yachting interest, especially among South Africans, since reality TV shows like ‘Below Deck’ emerged.

She said yachting provides exceptional advantages, including complimentary global travel to exclusive destinations favoured by billionaires. Crew members receive excellent, tax-free salaries and the potential for substantial cash tips, facilitating significant savings.

However, she said yachting is not for everyone and it is rife with sexual coercion, abuse of power, and retaliation.

“In my own experience, I’ve seen it play out in many forms: captains sleeping with stewardesses and then promoting them. Women coerced into relationships for the sake of career advancement, and senior crew being pushed out when they speak up.”

Reflecting on her personal experiences, Fisher said in 2011, on the weekend of her 33rd birthday, she was assaulted and held for three days at a crew house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, by a fellow South African crewman after she rejected his romantic advances.

During the attack, the perpetrator dislocated her shoulder, tearing several ligaments. Fortunately, she managed to escape and secured a restraining order.

Fisher said her attacker went on to work on other yachts. “No blacklist. No industry investigation.”

She recalled that early in her career, while working as a second stewardess, a deckhand entered her cabin naked and jumped on top of her while she was in bed. “I screamed rape. Only then did he panic and run down the hallway naked. I was young, scared, and unsure what to do. I should have reported him. I should have fought. But I didn’t want to lose my job.”

Fisher stated that the harsh reality is that “silence is survival” for many junior crew members.

Five years later, while working as an interior manager on a 70-metre superyacht in the Caribbean, the head chef entered her private cabin, drunk and belligerent, making inappropriate advances and refusing to leave her room.

Fisher reported the incident and requested the offender’s removal. Weeks later, she was told firing him “would create red tape”, and he was kept on.

“I was having panic attacks and suffering anxiety. I was told to take a medical leave, and I never returned.”

Even the vessel’s Designated Person Ashore (DPA), a required neutral safety authority for yacht crew, failed to protect her, she said.

“When your safety depends on people whose salaries are paid by the abuser, there is no safety. When the flag state can only investigate ‘labour conditions’, not violence or coercion, what are we really regulating?”

According to Fisher, there was also an unsuccessfully attempt to coerce her to resign.

Fisher stated that the yachting industry has a dark side. “It fires victims to preserve reputations. It demands silence through contracts (non-disclosure agreements). It fails to enforce even the most basic safeguarding procedures. We work in confined quarters, remote coastlines, and shared cabins. If a predator wants access, the system makes it easy.”

Fisher warned that unless the industry prioritises crew protection over contracts, such issues will persist.

“When misconduct occurs, it is typically the victims who are dismissed, discredited, or quietly forced out. In the most tragic cases, such as those of… Paige, the result has been fatal.”

Fisher said the men involved remain and continue to progress through the ranks even when their actions are known within the industry.

The unfortunate reality is that in yachting, it is not what you know, but who you know, she said.

Women who report misconduct are often labelled as “difficult” or regarded as a liability and are quietly removed from the rotation of opportunity.

“Until the industry creates and enforces transparent mechanisms for reporting and responding to misconduct, this culture of silence and impunity will persist. And it will continue to cost women their careers, their safety, and in some cases, their lives,” said Fisher.

She said criminal background checks should be mandatory for all crew members.

“It baffles me that in an industry with such an extreme volume of required documentation including medical certificates, visas, Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers(STCW) training, firefighting, first aid and crowd control, not once in my nine years as a chief stewardess and interior manager was I asked to provide a criminal background check or ask for one when I hired crew.

“The irony is, we live and work in isolation, sometimes with complete strangers, in confined environments at sea. We’re sharing cabins. We’re working 18-hour days under high stress. And yet, we hire people from Facebook groups, based on word of mouth, or through recruitment agencies.”

Another concern she raised is that recruitment agents do not properly vet candidates. “For me, earning €8,000 a month, the agent made €8,000 when I was placed. There’s no long-term interest in whether that hire is safe, stable, or ethical.”

Fisher called for mandated criminal background checks, psychological screening, enforceable rest periods, and a human resource structure that doesn’t serve only the owners.

She noted that B1/B2 (US, Caribbean) or Schengen (Europe) visas don’t confirm a criminal check, only a declaration without investigation.

When asked why industry safety is not widely discussed, Fisher replied: “Because we’re afraid.”

“We lose our jobs. We get branded as ‘difficult.’ We get bullied, isolated, and replaced,” she said, adding that complainants are seen as the weak link and a liability.

Fisher stated that the NDAs prevent employees from discussing anything unethical, unsafe, or traumatic that occurs on board, under penalty of termination, lawsuits, or industry blacklisting.

“Until we dismantle that culture of silence and give crew the legal and psychological safety to speak, we will keep burying stories and people.”

Fisher further explained that jurisdiction in the yachting industry is murky because they operate internationally, often in remote locations, out of range of oversight.

She said vessel flag states, not geography, dictate onboard laws, creating legal loopholes that protect owners, not crew.

A new wave of awareness: The IMO’s commitment to safety

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) said while some of its regulations apply to all ships, if the ship is a commercial yacht, then usually flag states have their own regulations (e.g. Large Yacht Code) which generally apply similar levels of safety and other standards to IMO treaties such as the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and STCW Conventions.

For example, the IMO said the Bahamas Maritime Authority has yacht codes.

The organisation said the issue of violence and harassment at sea is a concern for IMO, and this has been highlighted in its 2025 global campaign called Day of the Seafarer 2025.

“The IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee has also agreed to revise the International Safety Management Code to address violence and harassment on ships, including bullying and sexual harassment,” said the organisation.

The IMO said the Maritime Safety Committee has adopted amendments to the STCW Code to require basic training for all seafarers on violence and harassment on ships, including on sexual harassment, sexual assault, and bullying.

“IMO continuously works to improve safety at sea and address issues raised by its member states.”

Explaining why mandatory criminal checks are not compulsory, the IMO stated that national legislation (flag state) covers crewing conditions and employer responsibilities in the superyacht industry.

karen.singh@inl.co.za

Source link