The Designated Person Ashore (DPA) is one of the most required — and most misunderstood — roles in the ISM Code. Required since 1998 under Chapter IX of the SOLAS convention, it embodies the mandatory link between the Company’s senior management and the vessel. For a private superyacht held via a holding company or family office, the question quickly arises: should one recruit a salaried DPA, or outsource the role to a specialist firm?
We currently hold this role for one owner, under Marshall Islands flag. This concrete field experience can help settle the question.
What the ISM Code requires
The ISM Code (consolidated version 2018) defines the DPA at paragraph 4:
“To ensure the safe operation of each ship and to provide a link between the Company and those on board, every Company, as appropriate, should designate a person or persons ashore having direct access to the highest level of management. The responsibility and authority of the designated person or persons should include monitoring the safety and pollution prevention aspects of the operation of each ship and ensuring that adequate resources and shore-based support are applied, as required.”
Three key elements emerge:
- “Ashore” — on shore, not on board. The DPA is not the master.
- “Direct access to the highest level of management” — direct access to the highest management body. No filtering intermediate level, no hierarchy that interposes itself.
- “Responsibility and authority” — responsibility and authority. This is not an advisory role: the DPA must be able to stop a vessel if safety requires it.
The function is precise. It implies genuine availability, proven maritime competence, and effective power over the vessel. It is not an honorary title.
Outsourcing: what is permitted, what is not
IMO Resolution MSC-MEPC.7/Circ.8 and flag directives confirm that the DPA role can be outsourced, subject to several strict conditions:
- Written contract between the Company (the owner) and the outsourced firm, precisely describing the DPA’s obligations, authority and response times.
- Formal declaration to the flag, which registers the name, contact details and qualifications of the outsourced DPA.
- Direct and documented access of the DPA to the highest management body — no filtering by an intermediary.
- Independence from the vessel’s technical service providers and suppliers, to avoid conflicts of interest.
- 24/7 availability for incidents and communications with the vessel.
Stricter flags (Norway, United Kingdom) additionally require a personal maritime qualification from the outsourced DPA — typically a master mariner certificate, chief engineer, or formally certified ISM auditor.
The case for outsourcing
For an owner who holds one or two yachts, recruiting a salaried DPA raises three problems:
- High fixed cost for an intrinsically variable workload. A competent DPA with the required experience commands between €120,000 and €200,000 per year including on-costs. This is a justified cost across 5–10 vessels, not one or two.
- Continuity — a salaried DPA takes leave, falls ill, resigns. Who covers the role during those periods? An outsourced contract inherently includes a 12-month service guarantee.
- Multi-flag expertise — an outsourced DPA managing several vessels builds comparative expertise that you simply cannot develop in-house with a single yacht.
For a family office holding one or more yachts among other assets, these three arguments are compounded by a fourth: discretion. Integrating a salaried DPA into the family office’s organisation introduces a new reporting line, with access to sensitive information (true identity of beneficiaries, ownership structure, navigation routes). Outsourcing to a firm bound by a strict NDA preserves confidentiality.
The limitations to know
Outsourcing is not suited to every configuration:
- Large fleet (≥ 5 vessels under the same Company): the fixed cost of a salaried DPA becomes competitive, and operational consistency carries more weight.
- Intensive commercial charter operations: the frequency of incidents and the intensity of operational obligations justify an internal presence.
- Flag requiring local presence: some flags require the DPA to reside in the registry jurisdiction or in the Company’s country of domicile.
In these cases, the hybrid solution (salaried DPA + outsourced back-up for continuity) is sometimes the most appropriate.
Our field experience: active DPA under Marshall Islands flag
Cursorio currently exercises the outsourced DPA function for a 499 UMS (GT) vessel under Marshall Islands flag. Our Company is registered with the IMO under unique company number 6391845, a prerequisite for accreditation by a classification society and for the exercise of a recognised DPA role.
In practice, our mandate covers:
- Quarterly SMS review (Safety Management System) — consistency, updates, tracking of non-conformities.
- Annual Management Review — drafted with the master, validated by the Company’s highest authority, archived in an audit-ready format.
- Direct escalation channel — dedicated 24/7 telephone line between master and DPA, with no intermediary. Documented call log, traceable in audit.
- Near-miss and accident processing — receipt of master’s report, root cause analysis, improvement recommendations, integration into the SMS cycle.
- Interface with the Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator — declarations, responses to circulars, DOC and SMC renewal.
- ISM audit preparation and support — preceded by an internal pre-audit conducted according to our methodology.
Over the first twelve months of this mandate, we handled three near-misses (without injury), conducted one full ISM pre-audit closed with a single minor non-conformity at the official audit, and revised two SMS procedures (fuel management and pollution response plan). The master retains full authority on board; we provide the shore-based back office, regulatory access and independence of judgement on sensitive matters.
Indicative cost
For an outsourced DPA mandate on a private superyacht, the annual fee typically falls between €15,000 and €40,000 excluding taxes, depending on:
- the tonnage and complexity of the vessel (a 499 GT is simpler than a 2,000 GT);
- the flag and its specific requirements;
- operational frequency (vessel in continuous service vs. seasonal);
- additional services (DPA + CSO, or DPA alone, or DPA + audit support).
This cost is marginal compared to the exposure of an unclosed major non-conformity, which can lead to suspension of the SMC, detention of the vessel, and significant legal risk for the owner.
How to choose your outsourced DPA
A few non-negotiable criteria:
- IMO Company number — the firm must be registered with the IMO (prerequisite for recognition by classification societies).
- Real DPA experience — ask for the list of active mandates (anonymised), the length of the role, the flags covered.
- Independence — the firm must not itself be a supplier to the vessel (yard, broker, crew supplier) on the same mandate, to avoid conflicts of interest.
- Contractual 24/7 availability — written commitment, not simply a number that goes unanswered at weekends.
- Systematic NDA — confidentiality must be at the heart of the mandate.
- Personal maritime qualification of the named DPA — the flag will verify this point upon registration.
In summary
The role of Designated Person Ashore is too demanding to be delegated lightly, but too burdensome to internalise for an owner with one or two vessels. Outsourcing to a recognised firm — IMO-registered, experienced on superyacht vessels, independent of suppliers — is the optimal configuration for the vast majority of private owners and family offices.
At Cursorio, we hold this mandate today, in real operating conditions, for an owner under Marshall Islands flag. We offer this function to other owners as part of a full management mandate, an ISM/ISPS audit mission, or on a standalone basis for vessels already managed in-house that simply wish to secure their DPA coverage.