Training in art appreciation for
yacht crews may also equip people for
an art-based career ashore should
they ever want to move out of
shipping.
CAUGHT OUT BY A CRACKDOWN
Not only do crews need to learn about
art appreciation, they need to know
the law too. EU Regulation 2019/880
on the introduction and the import of
cultural goods is expected to come
into force in the next two years. It
will place restrictions on the passage
of artwork across borders and is
designed to prevent the smuggling of
antiquities.
The regulation will apply to all
cultural objects. ‘I have absolutely no
doubt that customs officers will use
this in the next couple of years as a
pretext to board a vessel,’ says Ms
Mather-Lees. If art owners and
captains do not follow the regulation
carefully, they may be regarded as
smugglers and land in very hot water
indeed.
What should crew members do
when something does go wrong? The
advice is that prevention is better
than cure. However, should it happen,
crew must check their insurance
cover and call a specialist before
touching anything. If there is a legal
risk, they should call their lawyer
– and their Union, if they are Nautilus
members.
In addition to yacht management,
yards and industry training companies,
Ms Mather-Lees is aiming to
reach yacht crews directly to help
them train up – something some
stewards and stewardesses choose to
do and pay for themselves to improve
their chances of getting work.
Yacht owners sometimes ask a
crew member to buy a piece of art,
and hand over a credit card. What
should they do and how do they go
about it? What not to do is also
important – like getting drunk and
announcing to a bar that the yacht
you work on has a Picasso onboard.
Contracts often contain non-disclosure
agreements (NDAs), the content
of which by their nature little is
known about. •
FINLANDS SJÖFART J SUOMEN MERENKULKU 31
and maiden voyage. Art handlers must
be aware in good time of travel
arrangements to advise the necessary
parties and support the captain with
supporting documentation and
logistics planning
• Care needs to be taken during
newbuilding, sea trials, refits, crew
turnover, annual compliance checks,
change of domicile or tax status of
owner or owning structure, interior
design changes or new objects
arriving onboard
Ms Mather-Lees has developed a
course to fill the gap: ‘The course I
teach allows the inclusion of art
appreciation, so people know something
about the art world, their owner
as art collector and what they are
handing daily.’
She estimates there are 202
billionaires in the world who are yacht
owners and who call themselves art
collectors. It’s a substantial market of
art at sea, most of which is shrouded in
the deepest secrecy and non-disclosure
agreements. This is arguably
necessary to protect the works, but
then has the flipside that things more
easily get lost, stolen or damaged.