Quay Crew Releases 2023 Captain Salary Report

Apr 6, 2024 by Kevin Maher

Quay Crew released their most detailed salary report to date, in which the superyacht recruitment agency surveyed almost 300 superyacht captains to get insight into real-time captains’ compensation. Respondents included captains on board yachts ranging from less than 39 to 100 or more meters, with more than half having been a captain for more than 10 years.

This year’s report found the average monthly pay is now higher across all size brackets, representing a median 6.75% increase. The increase comes after a slight decline in salaries between 2020 and 2022. Captains of yachts over 100 meters are seeing the biggest jump in salary compared to last year, with an average monthly salary of €21,243 in 2023 compared to €18,693 in 2022. Meanwhile, yacht captains of yachts between 60 to 69 meters are seeing the smallest monthly salary jump, from €15,774 in 2022 to €15,969 in 2023.

Simon Ladbrooke, captain consultant for Quay Crew, detailed one interesting and unforeseen detail found from the captains’ responses.

“We were surprised, however, how many captains there are out there with commercial tickets captaining yachts significantly under 3000gt,” Ladbrooke wrote in the survey.

Quay Crew’s survey found that time-for-time rotation has grown in popularity on all size yachts, apart from those less than 39 meters, which are all full time. The average age that it takes to become a captain has risen, along with the number of years’ experience as chief officer, suggesting a longer transition. Although the transition time has increased, almost 75% of responding captains say it took them less than six months to secure their first captain role. However, onboard promotion could be a large factor to this low number.

Quay Crew’s full survey delves into each size bracket, detailing promotion, longevity, bonuses, and more salary statistics. Accessing the entire survey is free for captains and head of departments after subscribing to Quay Crew’s client portal — at no cost.

Quay Crew noted that there will always be exceptions and outliers in the various size categories, which can skew the averages. Keep this in mind when comparing your salary packages.