Why TransparentSea exists

Our mission

Undisclosed commissions and backhanders have become normal in parts of yachting. In the countries we cover, asking for or offering one to someone who handles another person's money is, in general, a crime, and it does not matter whether anyone was overcharged. We exist to stamp it out, and to set an ethical standard for how business is done.

• We educate and set standards. We explain the law, publish free policies and checklists, and teach crew, captains, brokers, managers and suppliers where the line is. We do not mediate disputes.
• Vendors stand together. Suppliers who promise no hidden benefits are listed openly, so owners and management companies can use the list the way they use a preferred-supplier list, and honest suppliers stop losing orders to those who pay for them. See the Vendor Promise.
• The standard is written together. We are drafting it in the open with vendors, management companies and anyone else who wants it to work. Help write it.
• Anyone can report. If you have been asked for a backhander, even if you refused, there is a private route to raise it, and nothing goes further without your permission. Report a concern.

Relationships are not the problem. Good brokers and good suppliers can and should work together for years. The problem is the financial incentive that moves in secret between them, because it changes whose interests are served. We have not found a published supplier-conduct standard for the industry, and that is the gap we are trying to fill.

Legal action, and how it is funded

Where there is real evidence and the person who reported agrees, we will go to a lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction. We are in touch with lawyers who have said they are willing to help on cases like these, and we will support properly evidenced legal challenges in any way we can. We cannot promise an outcome, and nothing is passed to anyone without your permission. To pay for this, we plan a small annual contribution from vendors who make the Vendor Promise, about €100 a year. It is for legal costs and running the standard. It never buys a listing, and the free resources stay free.

What we are

TransparentSea is an independent, temporary, unpaid project, run by one person with help welcome, for everyone in yachting who handles someone else's money: crew and captains, charter and sales brokers, management companies, owners and guests, and suppliers. We publish plain-English guidance, set out what the law says in the countries where yachts are run and supplied, and offer a private way to raise a concern or ask a question.

What we are not

• We are not lawyers. We explain principles and cite the provisions. We do not give legal advice, and using this site does not create a lawyer–client relationship.
• We do not name and shame. We publish no accusations against individuals or companies. We state what documents say and let readers judge.
• We are not a regulator or an investigator. We cannot compel anyone to do anything. We can help you understand your position and, with your permission, introduce you to people who can act.

Why this matters to everyone, including the honest majority

Most people in yachting are honest. They are also the ones who lose most when hidden margins become normal: suppliers who will not pay for orders lose them, crew who refuse envelopes are pressured, and owners and guests who feel overcharged spend less. Money lost to undisclosed commissions is money that is not there for wages, for better service or for the next charter. Read more in Hidden margins cost everyone.

Who is behind this

TransparentSea was started by one person who runs a supplier in the yacht provisioning trade. We say so because you are entitled to know, and because it is why every statement here is tied to a document or to the text of a law, and why we ask you to check our work.

Temporary by design

We will close this site when the associations, brokerages, management companies and suppliers in yachting can show that they police themselves and operate within the law. We would like that to be soon.

How we work

• Every factual claim traces to a document on file or to the text of a law.
• Pieces that touch on law are reviewed by qualified counsel before they are marked approved.
• Concerns sent to us are confidential. Nothing is passed on without your permission, and we ask again before sharing anything that could identify you.
• If we get something wrong, tell us and we will correct it.