Lloyd’s Register and ISWAN join forces to put crew wellbeing at the heart of safety in the yacht industry
The collaboration aims to reshape safety culture across the superyacht sector through a focus on crew wellbeing.
Lloyd’s Register (LR) and the International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) have announced a new Joint Development Project (JDP) aimed at addressing the evolving safety and wellbeing challenges faced by crew members in the superyacht industry.
The partnership was formalised at the Metstrade show in Amsterdam.
The collaboration will explore how crew wellbeing influences safety-related behaviours onboard, with the goal of shaping a proactive, human-centred safety culture across the industry. LR will contribute its technical expertise and experience in safety frameworks, while ISWAN will bring specialist knowledge of seafarer welfare and direct engagement with crew.
The project builds on LR’s current safety culture survey across seagoing yachts and management companies, which has highlighted the need for a proactive, behaviour-based approach to safety. Interim findings so far reveal that transparency, crew empowerment and intelligent design are key to reducing risk and strengthening operational integrity.
Engel-Jan de Boer, Global Yacht Segment Director at LR, said: “Together, LR and ISWAN have the opportunity to build on our shared expertise to create meaningful, lasting change. Safety is not just about compliance, it’s about people, leadership and culture. This collaboration gives us a platform to embed those values across the sector.”
ISWAN’s role will ensure that crew wellbeing remains central to the programme, recognising the critical link between mental and physical health and a safe working environment. Their involvement will also help amplify crew voices and encourage greater industry engagement with the human side of safety.
Simon Grainge, Chief Executive at ISWAN, said: “Crew members are at the heart of every safe and successful operation, yet crew wellbeing is often treated as separate from safety itself. Through this partnership, we aim to ensure that the voices and experiences of crew themselves directly shape how safety is understood and applied in the yachting industry.”
Yacht crew members and shore personnel can access, and complete the 30-minute survey anonymously via QR codes on promotional materials or by visiting Lloyd’s Register’s dedicated survey platform.
About Lloyd’s Register
Trusted maritime and energy sector advisors, partnering with clients to drive performance across the ocean economy.
Lloyd’s Register (LR) is a global professional services group specialising in marine and offshore engineering, technology and digital solutions. We were created more than 260 years ago as the world’s first marine classification society to improve and set standards for the safety of ships.
Today we are a leading provider of classification and compliance services to the marine and offshore industries, helping our clients design, construct and operate their assets to accepted levels of safety and environmental compliance.
We also provide advisory services and digital solutions, supporting fleet and voyage performance and optimisation.
Our digital solutions are relied upon by more than 30,000 vessels, following the acquisition of OneOcean in 2022 and Ocean Technologies Group in 2024.
In the race to zero emissions, our research, advisory and technical expertise and industry-firsts are supporting a safe, sustainable maritime energy transition.
Lloyd’s Register Group is wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a politically and financially independent global charity that promotes safety and education.
For more information, go to www.lr.org
About ISWAN
The International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) is an international not-for-profit maritime organisation which works to ensure that seafarers and their families have the support and resources they need to respond to the challenges of life at sea, and to drive seafarer-centred change within the maritime sector. ISWAN is there for all seafarers and their families around the world, whatever they are facing, providing free helpline services (including SeafarerHelp and YachtCrewHelp), educational resources, relief funds and humanitarian support. ISWAN also works to drive seafarer-centred change within the maritime sector for better health, safety and wellbeing amongst seafarers and their families, using data insights from its helplines to inform the development of new projects and services. For more information, visit www.iswan.org.uk.
