Privacy Policy

A legal disclaimer

This Privacy Policy explains how Vela Recruitment (“VELA”, “we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data in connection with our recruitment and placement services for yacht, villa, and land-based roles within the EU and internationally. It also outlines how we meet our obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”) and relevant provisions of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (“MLC”).

By using our website or engaging with our services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. This Policy applies to candidates, seafarers, clients, website visitors, and any other individuals whose personal data we process in the course of our business.

Data controller and contact details

VELA Recruitment acts as the data controller for personal data collected in connection with our recruitment and placement activities.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or your data protection rights, you can contact us at:

Email: crew@velarecruitment.com
Postal address: 1059 chemin de l’Escure, Le Bar-Sur-Loup, 06620, France
Telephone: +33 6 23 27 75 35

If applicable, the contact details of our Data Protection Officer (DPO) or data protection contact person will be published on this page and may be obtained on request.

Types of personal data collected

Depending on your relationship with us (candidate, seafarer, client, or website visitor), we may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

Identification and contact details: name, date of birth, nationality, address, email, telephone number, and emergency contact.
Professional information: CV, work history, qualifications, certificates, references, language skills, salary expectations, notice period, work preferences.
Seafarer-specific data: maritime certificates, sea service records, passport and visa details, medical fitness certificates where required by law or regulation, STCW and other statutory documents.
Compliance information: records of interviews, assessment notes, results of background checks where legally permitted, verification of certificates and references.
Client data: contact details of client representatives, job descriptions, feedback on candidates, contractual information.
Website and technical data: IP address, device information, browser type, cookies and similar technologies used for website functionality and analytics (as set out in our Cookies Notice, if applicable).

We will only collect information that is necessary, relevant, and proportionate for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.

Legal bases for processing

VELA processes personal data in accordance with the GDPR and only where a valid legal basis applies. Depending on the context, we rely on the following legal bases:

Performance of a contract or steps prior to entering into a contract: for example, when assessing your suitability for a role, presenting your profile to a client, or managing a placement.
Legitimate interests: for example, operating and improving our recruitment services, maintaining business records, managing relationships with clients and candidates, and ensuring network and information security. We always balance our legitimate interests against your fundamental rights and freedoms.
Compliance with legal obligations: including obligations under labour, maritime, tax, social security, and data protection laws, as well as obligations arising from the MLC.
Consent: in certain cases, we may rely on your explicit consent, for example to retain your details for future opportunities beyond a specific role, or to process particular categories of sensitive data where required by law. You may withdraw your consent at any time (see section on your rights).

Purposes of processing

We process personal data for the following purposes:

Recruiting and placing candidates and seafarers into yacht, villa, and land-based roles.
Assessing skills, experience, and suitability for current and future opportunities.
Creating and maintaining candidate and client records and talent pools, where consent or another lawful basis allows.
Verifying qualifications, work experience, certificates, and references.
Fulfilling our obligations under applicable laws and regulations, including GDPR and MLC requirements related to recruitment and placement services.
Communicating with you about vacancies, applications, placements, and our services.
Managing contractual relationships, invoicing, and business administration.
Improving our services, website functionality, and user experience, including through website analytics (where permitted by law and cookie preferences).

We do not use personal data for purposes that are incompatible with the purposes described above. If we wish to use your data for a new purpose, we will inform you and, where required, seek your consent.

Data retention

Candidate and seafarer data is typically retained for up to five (5) years from the date of your last recorded interaction with VELA, in line with our internal retention policy and to comply with our legitimate interests in maintaining accurate recruitment records and defending legal claims.

After this period, personal data is securely deleted or anonymised unless a longer retention period is required by law, necessary to resolve ongoing issues, or you have given consent for extended retention (for example, for future opportunities).

You may request deletion of your data at any time, subject to any overriding legal or regulatory obligations that may require us to retain certain records.

Sharing of personal data

VELA may share personal data only on a strictly necessary basis and in line with GDPR and MLC requirements.

We may share your personal data with:

Prospective or current clients (such as yacht owners, captains, management companies, estate managers, or private employers) for the purpose of assessing suitability for specific roles.
Service providers who support our operations (e.g. IT, hosting, applicant tracking systems, professional advisers), subject to appropriate data processing agreements and confidentiality obligations.
Regulatory or governmental authorities, flag states, or enforcement bodies where required by law or regulation.
Insurers and legal advisers, where necessary to manage claims or comply with our legal obligations, including under MLC.

We do not sell personal data to third parties. Any sharing of data is limited to what is necessary for the purposes outlined above, and we use contractual and technical safeguards to protect personal data.

Where personal data is transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA), we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place (such as adequacy decisions, standard contractual clauses, or equivalent mechanisms).

Seafarer protections and MLC compliance

VELA operates in accordance with the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), 2006, in respect of recruitment and placement services for seafarers and yacht crew.

In particular:

No fees are charged to seafarers: VELA does not charge candidates or seafarers any fees for registration, recruitment, or placement services. Our services to seafarers are free, without hidden costs.
Insurance and financial protection: VELA maintains appropriate insurance or equivalent financial security, as required by MLC Regulation 1.4, to protect seafarers from monetary loss that may result from the failure of a recruitment and placement service, including in cases of abandonment or unseaworthiness relating to their employment.
Information and documentation: VELA ensures that seafarers are made aware of their rights and obligations before joining a vessel, and encourages them to review their Seafarer Employment Agreement (SEA), shipboard conditions, and statutory documentation (including MLC compliance certificates) provided by the vessel or employer.

VELA does not issue SEAs itself; these are concluded directly between the seafarer and the yacht, management company, or employer. Our role is to facilitate placement and ensure seafarers receive clear information consistent with MLC standards.

Your data protection rights

Under the GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data, subject to certain conditions and exceptions:

Right of access: to obtain confirmation of whether we process your personal data and to access a copy of that data.
Right to rectification: to have inaccurate or incomplete personal data corrected.
Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”): to request deletion of your personal data where there is no overriding lawful basis for retention.
Right to restriction of processing: to request that we limit the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability: to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used format and to transmit it to another controller, where processing is based on consent or contract and carried out by automated means.
Right to object: to object to processing that is based on our legitimate interests or for direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at crew@velarecruitment.com. We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request.

You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority if you believe your data protection rights have been infringed.

Security of personal data

VELA implements appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, destruction, or damage. These measures may include access controls, encryption, secure storage, staff training, and regular review of our security practices.

Access to candidate and seafarer data is restricted to those employees and service providers who need it for legitimate business purposes and who are bound by confidentiality obligations.

Cookies and website tracking

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to:

Enable basic site functionality.
Improve user experience and performance.
Analyse website traffic and usage patterns.

Where required by law, we will ask for your consent before placing non-essential cookies and provide you with options to manage your preferences. For more information, please refer to our separate Cookies Notice, if applicable.

Complaints and dispute resolution (including MLC)

If you have concerns about how your personal data is being processed, or about any aspect of our recruitment and placement services, you may contact us using the details in section 2. We will review and respond to complaints as promptly as possible and aim to resolve issues within a reasonable timeframe.

Seafarers who wish to raise concerns related to MLC rights or treatment may also contact the relevant maritime authority or flag state administration. In the United Kingdom, this includes the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

Changes to this Privacy Policy

VELA may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or regulatory guidance.

The updated version will be published on our website and will take effect from the date of posting. You are encouraged to review this page periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal data.