The International Maritime Organization's amendment to the STCW Convention took effect on 1 January 2026, adding a mandatory competency for seafarers holding a basic safety certificate: preventing and responding to harassment, intimidation and sexual assault on board. The change, adopted in May 2024 by the Maritime Safety Committee (resolution MSC.560(108)), amends table A-VI/1-4 of the convention. For a 20 to 60 metre yacht, it directly concerns deck and engineering officers, as well as interior crew holding a basic safety certificate (CFBS under French flag, PSSR under UK flag).
Compliance deadlines differ by flag state
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency clarified how the rule applies to UK flagged vessels in its notice MGN 718, published this summer. Any seafarer holding a PSSR certificate, a Certificate of Competency or a Certificate of Proficiency issued before 1 January 2026 must complete a free online training module before 31 March 2027. The module (reference 0900, on the Ocean Technologies platform) takes about an hour and produces a digital verification of training to be kept on board.
The French flag takes a different approach. Certificates already in force remain valid until their normal five year renewal, and the new content will be folded into the refresher course. No urgent retraining is required for a French seafarer whose certificate was recently renewed, but the topic will have to be covered at the next training cycle.
What it changes on board
For an owner or captain, the first task is administrative: list every crew member holding a CFBS or PSSR certificate issued before January 2026, and check which training regime applies to them. Under UK flag, the March 2027 deadline is approaching fast given the usual crew turnover after the summer season. Under French flag, there is more room, but a check of the training register avoids a bad surprise during a port state control inspection.
Beyond paperwork, the rule formalises what some crewing agencies were already doing informally after public accounts of harassment in yachting. It gives a captain a written framework for handling an onboard complaint, which also simplifies the policy to present to charter guests and to the employer's liability insurer.
