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Version: v1.0-26
Last updated: 5 August 2026
Bluewater respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect and use personal data when you:
This Policy applies alongside any service-specific privacy notice that we give you. The Bluewater Training Privacy Policy provides additional information about personal data processed in connection with training courses and examinations.
Bluewater is a group of companies. The company responsible for your personal data depends on the service you use and is identified in the applicable contract, quotation, booking confirmation, invoice or service-specific privacy notice.
Unless another controller is identified in that way, the controller of this website and of Bluewater’s central online account services is:
Blue Water International AG, Baarerstrasse 14, 2nd floor, 6300 Zug, Switzerland. CHE-432.809.485 MWST.
The Bluewater group companies, and the services each provides, are:
Group companies may share personal data with each other where this is necessary to provide a service you have requested, to administer the group’s shared platforms, or to meet a legal obligation. Where a company outside the European Economic Area is involved, the safeguards described in the International transfers section apply.
Bluewater operates offices in Antibes, Palma, Monaco, Dubai and Zug. An office is not itself a controller. Personal data processed at an office is processed by the company identified above or in the applicable contract.
If you are unsure which Bluewater company holds your personal data, please contact info@bluewateryachting.com and we will tell you.
Questions, requests and complaints concerning personal data may be submitted:
Bluewater has appointed a Data Protection Officer. The Data Protection Officer may be contacted directly on any matter relating to the processing of your personal data or the exercise of your rights:
Lucia Chastel, Data Protection Officer
dpo@bluewateryachting.com
Depending on your relationship with us, we may collect the following categories of personal data.
This may include your name, title, date and place of birth, nationality, residential or business address, email address, telephone number, photograph, signature and preferred language.
This may include your username, hashed password or other authentication credentials, account settings, communication preferences, account activity and records of documents uploaded to your account.
This includes messages, emails, telephone notes, enquiry forms, feedback, survey responses, complaints and records of our communications with you.
Depending on the service, this may include:
Where necessary, we may process passports, identity cards, visas, Seaman’s Discharge Books, proof of address, professional certificates and similar documents.
We only request such documents when they are relevant and proportionate to the service, legal obligation or verification being performed.
This may include bank account details, billing information, payment status, transaction references and accounting records.
Payment card information may be processed by an authorised payment-services provider. The information received and retained by Bluewater depends on the payment method and provider used.
This may include your IP address, device identifiers, browser type, operating system, login records, pages viewed, referring pages, approximate location derived from an IP address, cookie identifiers and information about how you use our websites, applications and messages.
This includes your communication preferences, newsletter subscriptions, campaign interactions including whether our emails are opened and which links are clicked, and information used to select communications that may be relevant to you.
Where you take part in a photo competition, respond to a request to feature your social media content, or otherwise send us photographs, videos, written material or other content, we process that content together with your name, social media handle, image and any personal information contained in or associated with it.
In limited circumstances, we may process information concerning health, accessibility requirements or other special-category data. Examples include information needed for safe participation in training, emergency support, crew welfare, employment administration or reasonable adjustments.
We only process special-category data where an applicable condition under Article 9 GDPR has been identified, such as explicit consent, employment or social-protection law, protection of vital interests, substantial public interest, legal claims or another condition permitted by applicable law.
Information concerning criminal convictions or offences is processed only where authorised by applicable law and subject to appropriate safeguards.
We may obtain personal data:
Where we obtain personal data from another source, we will provide the information required by law unless an applicable exception applies.
We use personal data only where we have an appropriate legal basis.
We process identity, contact, communication and service-requirement information to answer enquiries, prepare quotations, assess requirements and take steps requested before entering into a contract.
Legal basis: steps taken at your request before entering into a contract and, where appropriate, our legitimate interests in responding to business enquiries.
We process relevant personal data to provide brokerage, charter, yacht management, crew placement, training, account, application and associated services.
Legal basis: performance of a contract or steps taken before entering into a contract.
Where you act for a company, yacht owner or other organisation rather than contracting personally, we generally rely on our legitimate interests and those of the organisation in administering and performing the relevant relationship.
We may process professional, payroll, next-of-kin, qualification, travel, immigration, safety and employment information to support yacht operations and crew administration.
Legal basis: performance of a contract, compliance with legal obligations, protection of vital interests in an emergency and legitimate interests in safely and effectively administering yacht operations.
Where special-category data is involved, we also identify an applicable Article 9 condition.
We process candidate profiles, employment histories, qualifications, references, preferences and availability to provide recruitment services, identify potential roles and introduce candidates to authorised yacht owners, captains or employers.
Legal basis: steps before entering into a contract, performance of a contract, consent where required and our legitimate interests in providing recruitment services.
Candidates will be informed before their identifiable profile is disclosed beyond the recipients reasonably expected as part of the requested placement service.
We may verify identities, authority to act, beneficial ownership, sanctions status, source-of-funds information or other matters where necessary.
Legal basis: compliance with legal obligations and our legitimate interests in preventing fraud, ensuring security, managing risk and protecting Bluewater, its clients and other people.
We process transaction, invoice, payment and contractual information to collect payments, issue refunds, maintain accounts and administer our business.
Legal basis: performance of a contract, compliance with tax and accounting obligations and our legitimate interests in managing our business.
We may use feedback, aggregated statistics and limited usage information to understand performance and improve our services.
Legal basis: our legitimate interests in managing and improving our services. Where the activity uses non-essential cookies or similar tracking technologies, the legal basis is consent.
We process account, device, log and communication information to secure our systems, prevent unauthorised access, investigate suspected misuse and protect people and property.
Legal basis: our legitimate interests in network and information security, fraud prevention and protection of our services, and compliance with legal obligations where applicable.
We may send information about Bluewater news, services, courses, events and offers:
You may object to direct marketing or unsubscribe at any time. We will retain a minimal suppression record so that we can respect your request.
Consent to the use of tracking pixels in our emails is a separate matter from consent to receive the emails themselves. Both are explained in the Cookies and similar technologies section of this Policy.
We process content you share with us, and the personal information contained in it, in order to run competitions and to feature that content on our websites, social media channels and other promotional material.
Legal basis: your consent under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR, given through the applicable competition or user-generated content terms. You may withdraw your consent at any time, and we will stop the relevant use without undue delay.
We may process and disclose information to establish, exercise or defend legal claims, respond to lawful requests, cooperate with regulators and enforce our contracts.
Legal basis: compliance with legal obligations and our legitimate interests in protecting our legal rights and those of others.
Some information is required to:
Where information is mandatory, we will indicate this at the relevant point. If it is not provided, we may be unable to provide the requested service.
We may disclose personal data to carefully selected third-party service providers, professional advisers, agents, subcontractors and other organisations where this is necessary to carry out tasks or provide services on our behalf.
These organisations may assist us with activities such as:
Where a third-party service provider acts as a processor on our behalf, we disclose only the personal data reasonably necessary for the relevant service. We require the provider, through an appropriate written contract, to:
Some recipients may act as independent controllers because they determine how personal data must be used for their own lawful purposes. Depending on the relevant service, these recipients may include banks, payment providers, insurers, professional advisers, maritime authorities, examination bodies, accreditation bodies, employers, yacht owners, captains, brokers, travel providers and public authorities. Their processing is governed by their own privacy notices and legal obligations.
Applications to the Bluewater Scholarship Programme are assessed by a selection panel that includes senior figures from the yachting and maritime industries who are not employed by Bluewater. Panel members receive the application material, including the curriculum vitae, photograph, personal statement, references and prerequisite certificates, and are asked to treat it as confidential and to use it only to assess the application.
We will not disclose your personal data to third parties for their own direct-marketing purposes unless:
We may also disclose personal data where reasonably necessary:
Where a recipient is located outside the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or another country whose law restricts international data transfers, we use an applicable transfer safeguard as described in the International Transfers section of this Policy.
We do not sell or rent personal data.
Bluewater operates internationally, and some recipients or service providers may be located outside the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or the country in which your data was collected.
Where a transfer is restricted by applicable data-protection law, we use an approved safeguard, such as:
Some Bluewater group companies are established outside the European Economic Area. Switzerland and the United Kingdom benefit from European Commission adequacy decisions, so transfers to Blue Water International AG and Blue Water International LLP do not require additional safeguards. Monaco and the United Arab Emirates are not covered by an adequacy decision; transfers to Blue Water Monaco S.A.R.L. and Blue Water Yachting FZCO are made under European Commission Standard Contractual Clauses or another mechanism permitted by applicable law.
We assess whether supplementary technical, contractual or organisational measures are required for the transfer.
You may contact us for further information about the relevant safeguard and, where legally available, a copy of it.
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the relevant purpose, including legal, accounting, regulatory, safety and dispute-resolution requirements.
Unless a different statutory or service-specific period applies, our intended retention periods are:
When a retention period expires, information is securely deleted or anonymised unless it must be preserved for a legal hold, active dispute or continuing statutory requirement.
A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your computer, mobile device or other device when you visit a website. Cookies and similar technologies allow websites and web applications to recognise a device, remember preferences, provide requested functionality, maintain security and understand how visitors use the website.
Cookies can help a web application respond to you more effectively. For example, they may enable the website to remember your language, login status, consent choices or other preferences, so that its operation can be tailored to your needs.
We use the following categories of cookies and similar technologies:
These cookies are required for the website to operate securely and provide services that you request. They may be used for purposes such as authentication, security, fraud prevention, load balancing, remembering privacy choices and maintaining a user session.
Where permitted by law, strictly necessary cookies may be used without consent because the website cannot function properly without them.
Subject to your consent where required, we may use traffic-log, analytics and measurement cookies to understand how visitors use our website. These technologies may record information such as:
This information helps us identify which pages and services are used, measure website performance, analyse general usage patterns and improve the website to better meet customer needs.
Analytics information is used for statistical and service-improvement purposes. Where possible, it is aggregated, truncated, pseudonymised or otherwise limited. It is retained only for the period stated in our Cookie Policy or consent-management tool and is then deleted or anonymised, unless a longer period is required for security, legal or regulatory purposes.
Subject to your consent where required, these cookies may remember choices such as language, location, display preferences and previously selected services. They allow the website to provide a more personalised experience.
Subject to your consent, we or authorised third parties may use cookies and similar technologies to measure campaigns, limit repeated advertising, provide content that may be relevant to you or enable social-media functionality.
These third parties may process information as independent controllers and may combine information collected through our website with information obtained through other websites or services. Their own privacy and cookie notices explain how they use that information.
When you first visit our website, you will be given the opportunity to:
Non-essential cookies will not be activated before the required consent has been obtained. Rejecting non-essential cookies will be presented as clearly and accessibly as accepting them.
You may withdraw or change your consent at any time through the Consent Preferences button displayed on our website.
Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.
Most web browsers also allow you to block or delete cookies through their settings. Browser controls operate separately from our cookie-consent tool and may not record or withdraw a consent choice previously given through the website. Blocking certain cookies may affect website functionality or prevent you from taking full advantage of some services.
A cookie does not, by itself, give us unrestricted access to your computer or device. It allows access only to the information stored within that cookie or otherwise made available through your browser, device or interactions with the website.
Further information about the cookies and similar technologies we use, including their names, providers, purposes, legal bases and retention periods, is available in our Cookie Policy, set out at the end of this page.
Our marketing emails contain a small, invisible image known as a tracking pixel, and links that pass through a redirect before reaching their destination. When your email software displays the message, or when you click a link, these cause your device to send information back to us or to our email provider. This is a read or write operation on your device and is treated in the same way as a cookie.
Depending on the purpose, this may tell us:
Where we ask for your consent. We use tracking pixels to know whether you open our emails, the time at which you do so and information about the device you use, so that we can measure and improve the performance of our campaigns, personalise the content of our messages and adapt how often and through which channel we contact you. We also use them to identify unusual or automated opening patterns that may indicate fraud.
Where your consent is not required. We use a limited form of open measurement to manage our mailing lists, in order to identify delivery problems and to reduce or stop sending messages to recipients who no longer open them. For this purpose we retain only the date, without the time, of the last known opening, updated on each occasion and replacing the previous record. We describe this here for transparency, although your consent is not required for it.
Consent to tracking is separate from consent to receive the message. We may need your consent for a tracking pixel even in emails that we are entitled to send you without your consent, such as a booking confirmation or information about services similar to those you have already obtained from us.
How we ask for your choice. We ask for your choice at the point where you give us your email address, for example on our sign-up form, when you create a Bluewater account, or when you make an enquiry or a booking. Where we have not been able to do so, we may send you a message containing no consent-requiring tracking that invites you to make your choice. Refusing is as straightforward as accepting. We record your choice so that you are not asked again for at least six months, and we treat a lack of response as a refusal.
How to withdraw your consent. You may withdraw your consent at any time using the link in the footer of every marketing email. The page it opens allows you to change your choice without having to enter your email address again. Withdrawal applies to all future messages, and we take appropriate measures so that tracking contained in messages already sent to you is no longer used.
Who sends our emails. Our marketing emails are sent using Mailchimp, a service provided by Intuit Inc., acting on our documented instructions. Transfers outside the European Economic Area are covered by the safeguards described in the International transfers section of this Policy.
Mailchimp acts as our processor for these operations under a data processing agreement. Transfers to the United States are covered by Intuit’s certification under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, with the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses applying as a fallback.
We may use search, matching, ranking or recommendation tools to assist employees in reviewing candidate profiles, identifying potential job opportunities, detecting fraud or presenting relevant services.
Unless we specifically tell you otherwise, Bluewater does not make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you solely through automated processing.
Where such processing is introduced, we will explain:
Subject to the conditions and exemptions in applicable law, you may have the right to:
Rights are not absolute. For example, we may need to retain information to comply with law, perform an active contract, protect another person’s rights or establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.
We may ask for reasonable information to verify your identity and authority. We normally respond within one month after receiving a valid request and any necessary verification. Where permitted, this period may be extended by up to two additional months because of the complexity or number of requests. We will inform you if an extension is required.
Requests are normally free of charge. A reasonable fee may be charged, or a request may be refused, where permitted by law because it is manifestly unfounded or excessive.
You may submit a privacy complaint by emailing info@bluewateryachting.com.
We will acknowledge a privacy complaint within 30 days and will investigate and respond without undue delay. We will keep you appropriately informed while the complaint is being considered.
You may also lodge a complaint with the data-protection supervisory authority in the country where you live or work or where you believe an infringement occurred.
Depending on the applicable controller or law, relevant authorities may include:
We encourage you to contact us first so that we have an opportunity to address the issue, although you are not required to do so.
We are committed to protecting personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure, misuse or access.
To safeguard the personal data we collect and process, we maintain physical, electronic, technical and organisational security measures appropriate to:
Depending on the relevant system and risk, our safeguards may include:
Personal data is stored on systems protected by technical and organisational safeguards. Relevant systems are backed up according to our operational and business-continuity requirements.
Access to personal data is limited to personnel, contractors and service providers who need it for an authorised business purpose and who are subject to appropriate confidentiality requirements.
We regularly review our security controls and update them where appropriate. However, no internet transmission, electronic storage system or security measure can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
You are responsible for keeping passwords and other account credentials confidential. Please contact us promptly if you believe that:
Our general brokerage, charter, management and recruitment services are not directed to children.
Some training programmes may accept students aged 16 or 17 where course rules permit. The Bluewater Training Privacy Policy explains how information about younger students is handled.
Where consent is relied upon in connection with an online service offered directly to a child, we will apply the age and parental-authorisation requirements of the applicable country.
Our websites may contain links to websites, applications or services operated by other organisations. Those organisations are responsible for their own processing, and their privacy information should be reviewed separately.
We review this Policy regularly and may update it when our services, processing activities or legal obligations change.
Material changes will be communicated through an appropriate method, such as a notice on our website, an account notification or an email where required. The date at the top indicates when this Policy was last updated.
Click here to read the Bluewater Training Privacy Policy
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