Advertising Policy

1. Introduction to Advertising on HeyMariner

HeyMariner is a maritime intelligence platform built by maritime professionals for maritime professionals. Our audience consists of Masters, Chief Engineers, deck and engineering officers, port agents, harbour masters, ship managers, shipowners, maritime lawyers, classification society surveyors, port state control officers, maritime logistics professionals, maritime students, and the broader community of people whose professional lives are shaped by the global shipping industry.

Advertising on HeyMariner provides maritime businesses with the opportunity to reach this highly specialised, deeply engaged professional audience. We accept advertising because it helps fund the editorial work that makes HeyMariner valuable to the maritime community. We manage advertising carefully because we are equally committed to the trust that our audience places in us as a source of reliable, independent maritime intelligence.

This policy sets out the rules that govern advertising on HeyMariner: who can advertise, what types of advertising are accepted, what is strictly prohibited, how safety-critical content is protected from commercial influence, how sponsored content is disclosed, what targeting options are available, how advertiser data is handled, and how complaints about advertising are managed. All advertisers are required to read and accept this policy before placing advertising on HeyMariner. Acceptance of this policy is a condition of the advertising relationship.

This policy should be read in conjunction with HeyMariner's Editorial Policy, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service, all of which govern aspects of the relationship between advertisers, HeyMariner, and the users of the platform. In the event of any conflict between this advertising policy and HeyMariner's other policies, the provision that affords greater protection to users and greater independence to the editorial team will prevail.

2. Our Advertising Philosophy

HeyMariner's approach to advertising is governed by three principles: maritime relevance, professional non-intrusiveness, and absolute separation from editorial content.

Maritime relevance means that we only accept advertising from entities operating within or directly serving the global maritime industry. We are not a general-purpose digital advertising platform. Our audience comes to HeyMariner for maritime intelligence, and they deserve advertising that is as relevant to their professional lives as the editorial content that surrounds it. A mariner consulting a MARPOL regulatory guide does not benefit from advertising for consumer electronics or financial products. We therefore apply a strict relevance test to all advertising and decline applications from entities whose products or services are not meaningfully connected to maritime operations, seafarer welfare, port logistics, shipping commerce, or marine technology.

Professional non-intrusiveness means that advertising on HeyMariner must respect the professional context in which our platform is used. Maritime professionals — particularly those using the platform on the bridge or in an operational setting — cannot afford to be distracted by aggressive, animated, or disruptive advertising. Advertising that auto-plays audio, expands to obscure content, uses flashing animations, employs manipulative dark patterns, or creates confusion about what is advertising and what is editorial content is not accepted. Our advertising standards are set at a level appropriate for a professional maritime intelligence platform, not a consumer entertainment website.

Absolute separation from editorial content means that the commercial relationship between HeyMariner and its advertisers does not affect, and cannot be seen to affect, the editorial decisions of the HeyMariner team. This principle is fundamental to the value of HeyMariner as a trusted source of maritime information. Editorial coverage of advertisers is subject to the same standards of accuracy, independence, and rigour as coverage of non-advertisers. Advertisers who wish to influence HeyMariner's editorial content will find their advertising relationship terminated. This is not negotiable.

3. Types of Advertising We Accept

HeyMariner accepts the following advertising formats and categories, subject to the eligibility requirements, technical specifications, and content standards set out in this policy:

3.1 Display Advertising

Display advertising includes banner advertisements, sidebar placements, and in-content display units. Display ads are clearly labelled as advertising and are visually distinct from editorial content. They are placed in designated advertising zones that do not interrupt the reading experience of safety-critical or regulatory content. Display advertising is available on a cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) basis, with a minimum campaign duration of one month.

3.2 Sponsored Content and Native Advertising

Sponsored content is paid editorial content produced in partnership with a commercial sponsor. It is formatted to match the editorial style of HeyMariner articles but is clearly and prominently labelled as sponsored throughout. Sponsored content must meet HeyMariner's factual accuracy standards and is reviewed by our editorial team before publication. Sponsors may not make unsubstantiated safety claims, misrepresent regulatory compliance, or use sponsored content to disparage competitors. Sponsors may review content for factual accuracy before publication; they do not have approval rights over editorial tone or conclusions.

3.3 Maritime Supplier Directory Listings

Verified maritime suppliers — covering marine equipment, parts, consumables, logistics, crewing, insurance, legal services, and technical services — may purchase enhanced listings in HeyMariner's supplier directory. Enhanced listings include logo display, extended company descriptions, contact details, product category tags, and priority ranking within relevant search results. Directory listings are subject to verification of the company's legitimacy before activation.

3.4 IMPA Catalog Product Promotion

Manufacturers and suppliers whose products are listed in the IMPA (International Marine Purchasing Association) catalog may promote their products within HeyMariner's IMPA catalog integration. Product promotion placements appear in relevant catalog categories and search results. IMPA catalog product promotions must include accurate IMPA product codes and honest product descriptions. Promoted products remain subject to user ratings and editorial oversight.

3.5 Port and Terminal Advertising

Port authorities, terminal operators, and marine facility providers may advertise their facilities, services, and capabilities to vessel operators, ship managers, and maritime logistics professionals on HeyMariner. Port advertising placements are available on pages relating to relevant geographic regions, shipping lanes, and port categories. Port advertisements must be truthful about the facilities, draft capabilities, berth availability, and services offered. False or misleading claims about port capabilities are prohibited.

3.6 Maritime Software and Equipment Advertising

Providers of maritime software — including ECDIS systems, fleet management platforms, vessel performance analytics, cargo planning tools, GMDSS equipment, navigation instruments, and maritime communications technology — may advertise on HeyMariner. Equipment manufacturers supplying safety equipment, engine components, mooring systems, fire detection systems, and similar marine hardware are also welcome to advertise. All performance claims in maritime technology advertising must be substantiated and consistent with relevant type-approval certificates and class society approvals.

3.7 Career and Recruitment Advertising

Shipping companies, ship management companies, crewing agencies, and maritime employers may advertise seafarer and shore-based maritime job opportunities on HeyMariner. Recruitment advertising must accurately describe the position offered, the vessel type, trading area, contract length, and applicable terms and conditions. Job advertising from manning agents must include the full name of the manning agent, the name of the vessel owner or manager if available, and confirm that no illegal recruitment fees will be charged to seafarers, in accordance with MLC 2006 Standard A1.4. Recruitment advertising from agencies that charge illegal recruitment fees is prohibited.

3.8 Maritime Training Institution Advertising

STCW-approved maritime educational and training institutions, maritime academies, MET colleges, simulation centres, and professional development providers may advertise courses, programmes, and qualifications on HeyMariner. Training advertising must accurately describe the qualification level, flag state recognition, STCW course code where applicable, accreditation status, and course delivery format. Institutions offering STCW-aligned training must be able to demonstrate flag state approval upon request. We do not accept advertising from institutions offering maritime qualifications that are not recognised by any legitimate flag state or competent authority.

4. Prohibited Advertising Categories

The following categories of advertising are strictly prohibited on HeyMariner. These prohibitions are not negotiable and will not be overridden by commercial considerations. We maintain this list in order to protect the safety of maritime professionals, the integrity of our platform, and the trust of our audience.

• Misleading Safety Claims

  Advertising that makes false, exaggerated, or unsubstantiated claims about the safety performance of products, vessels, or operations. This includes advertising that claims type approval, class certification, or flag state recognition that the product does not actually hold. Safety certification claims must be verifiable against the relevant authority's current records.

• Non-Maritime Irrelevant Content

  Advertising for products, services, or content that has no meaningful connection to maritime operations, seafarer welfare, port logistics, shipping commerce, or marine technology. HeyMariner is not a general digital advertising network. Advertising for consumer goods, retail products, entertainment, political campaigns, or any other non-maritime category is not accepted.

• Adult Content

  Advertising for adult entertainment, sexually explicit content, or products and services primarily intended for adult entertainment purposes is prohibited on HeyMariner regardless of context or jurisdiction.

• Gambling

  Advertising for gambling services, online casinos, sports betting, or lottery products is prohibited. We recognise that problem gambling is a significant occupational health issue affecting seafarers, and we will not contribute to its promotion.

• Alcohol and Tobacco

  Advertising for alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, or related paraphernalia is prohibited. This prohibition applies regardless of jurisdiction and regardless of any general legal permission for such advertising. Maritime operations require clear-headed professionals, and the promotion of alcohol and tobacco is inconsistent with the safety culture HeyMariner seeks to support.

• Counterfeit and Fraudulent Products

  Advertising for counterfeit nautical charts, counterfeit safety equipment, counterfeit spare parts, or any product represented as meeting a standard or having a certification it does not in fact possess is strictly prohibited. The supply of counterfeit maritime products is a serious safety hazard and may constitute fraud.

• Fake Chart and Navigation Data Providers

  Advertising from entities offering electronic navigational charts, AIS data, meteorological data, or tidal data that is not sourced from recognised hydrographic offices, flag state-approved RENC providers, or official meteorological services. Fake or sub-standard navigation data presents a direct navigational safety hazard and will not be promoted on HeyMariner.

• Fraudulent Certification Services

  Advertising from entities offering, selling, or facilitating the acquisition of STCW certificates, flag state endorsements, seafarer identity documents, or any maritime qualification or official document that is not issued through a legitimate, flag-state-approved certification process. This prohibition extends to "refresher courses" designed to generate certificates without genuine training, and to document brokers who facilitate the submission of fraudulent certificates.

• Sanctioned Entities

  Advertising from companies, individuals, or vessels subject to international sanctions administered by the UN Security Council, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the European Union, the United Kingdom, or other recognised sanctions regimes. HeyMariner maintains compliance with applicable sanctions regulations and will not accept advertising revenue from sanctioned sources.

• Sub-Standard Manning Agents

  Advertising from crewing agencies that have been blacklisted by the ITF, have documented records of charging seafarers illegal recruitment fees in violation of MLC 2006 Standard A1.4, or have been identified by port state control authorities as supplying incompetent, uncertificated, or improperly documented crew. We check applicants against publicly available ITF blacklists and PSC records before approving recruitment advertising.

• False Environmental Claims

  Advertising that makes false or unsubstantiated claims about environmental compliance, emissions reduction, or sustainability credentials. "Greenwashing" advertising that misrepresents a vessel's or company's MARPOL compliance, CII rating, or carbon footprint is prohibited. Environmental claims must be supported by verifiable data from recognised measurement sources.

• Debt Collection and Predatory Financial Services Targeting Seafarers

  Advertising from high-interest loan providers, predatory debt collection services, or financial products specifically designed to exploit the vulnerability of seafarers who have been subjected to wage theft or delayed pay. We take seafarer financial welfare seriously and will not allow our platform to be used to target financially vulnerable maritime workers.

HeyMariner reserves the right to add to this list of prohibited categories at any time without prior notice, and to remove advertising that is found to fall within a prohibited category even if it was previously approved. We also reserve the right to decline advertising from any entity, for any reason, even where the entity does not fall within a listed prohibited category. Our reputation is the most valuable commercial asset HeyMariner has, and we will exercise judgment about who we associate with accordingly.

5. Maritime Safety and Advertising Separation

This section addresses the single most important principle governing advertising on HeyMariner: safety-critical maritime content is and will always be completely free of advertising.

The following categories of content on HeyMariner will never carry advertising of any kind, regardless of any commercial arrangement:

• Safety notices and emergency alerts derived from MSC circulars, flag state notices to mariners, MAIB reports, or similar official safety publications
• NAVAREA and NAVTEX warnings, including sub-area warnings issued by national coordinators
• Port state control detention notices and related vessel safety deficiency records
• Emergency procedures, life-saving appliance operational guides, and GMDSS emergency communication procedures
• Distress signal and search-and-rescue procedure content
• Content derived from formal casualty investigation reports
• Security alerts under the ISPS Code or related maritime security frameworks

This prohibition is absolute. No advertiser will ever be offered placement adjacent to safety-critical content. If an advertiser requests placement on safety notice pages as a condition of their advertising contract, that condition will not be accepted and the contract will not proceed on those terms. Safety content exists to protect human lives at sea, and it will never be used as an advertising vehicle.

Similarly, regulatory content — SOLAS text, MARPOL regulations, STCW standards, MLC provisions — carries minimal and clearly separated advertising. Where advertising appears on regulatory content pages, it is in designated sidebar zones and does not appear within the regulatory text itself, within article bodies, or in any way that could create visual or cognitive confusion between the advertising content and the regulatory information.

6. Advertiser Eligibility and Verification

All prospective advertisers must complete an application process before advertising is accepted. The application process is designed to verify the legitimacy of the advertiser, the relevance of their products or services to the maritime industry, and their compliance with this advertising policy.

Advertiser eligibility verification includes: confirmation of legal business registration in the advertiser's jurisdiction; confirmation that the advertiser's core business operates within or directly serves the maritime industry; review of the advertiser's sanctions status against applicable sanction lists (UN, OFAC, EU, UK); review of publicly available PSC detention records, ITF blacklists, and flag state adverse records where the advertiser operates vessels or provides crewing services; and review of any readily available regulatory enforcement actions against the advertiser.

Verification is conducted by HeyMariner's commercial team and may include a request for additional documentation. Verification is not a guarantee that an advertiser is free of undisclosed violations — it is a reasonable diligence process. HeyMariner reserves the right to terminate an advertising relationship at any time if information comes to light that was not available during the initial verification process or that the advertiser failed to disclose.

New advertisers are accepted on a trial basis for an initial period of three months. During the trial period, advertising is monitored for compliance with this policy. Advertisers who demonstrate full compliance during the trial period are eligible for longer-term advertising arrangements. Advertisers who are found to violate this policy during the trial period will have their advertising immediately suspended.

7. Ad Formats and Technical Specifications

HeyMariner accepts the following advertising formats. All formats must comply with the technical specifications listed and the content standards in Section 15 of this policy.

7.1 Banner Advertisements

Standard display banners in leaderboard (728x90px), medium rectangle (300x250px), and wide skyscraper (160x600px) formats. Accepted file formats: JPEG, PNG, WebP, and HTML5 (with fallback image). Maximum file size: 150KB for static images, 200KB for HTML5. Animation: HTML5 animations must stop after three cycles (maximum 15 seconds). No auto-playing audio. No fake close buttons or system UI mimicry.

7.2 Sponsored Article

A long-form article (minimum 800 words, maximum 3,000 words) formatted in HeyMariner's editorial style and prominently labelled as sponsored content. Sponsors provide a draft for editorial review. Images must be provided in high resolution (minimum 1200px wide, provided as JPEG or WebP). Sponsored articles appear in relevant content categories and may be promoted via HeyMariner's newsletter and social media channels if purchased as a premium package.

7.3 Directory Listing

Enhanced supplier directory entries. Includes: company logo (SVG or PNG, minimum 200x200px), company description (up to 500 words), contact details, website URL, up to five product/service category tags, and priority ranking within relevant categories. Directory listings are available on an annual flat-rate subscription.

7.4 Newsletter Sponsorship

Sponsored sections in HeyMariner's regular maritime newsletter. Newsletter sponsorship includes a short sponsor message (maximum 100 words), a logo, and a single call-to-action link. Newsletter sponsorships are clearly separated from editorial newsletter content and labelled as sponsored. Available on a per-issue or monthly basis.

8. Pricing Model

HeyMariner uses a combination of pricing models appropriate to each advertising format. We do not publish rate cards publicly, as rates may vary based on targeting options, campaign duration, volume commitments, and market conditions. Prospective advertisers are invited to contact our commercial team for a current media kit and rate information.

Display advertising is generally priced on a cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) basis, with a guaranteed minimum monthly impression floor. Sponsored content is priced on a flat-rate per-article basis, reflecting the editorial resources required to review and publish the content. Directory listings are priced as annual subscriptions with tiered features. Newsletter sponsorships are priced per issue, with discounts available for multi-issue bookings.

We do not offer "pay for placement in editorial content" arrangements. Advertising spending does not purchase editorial coverage, placement in editorial rankings, or any other form of editorial benefit. The pricing model is transparent and relates solely to the commercial advertising product purchased.

9. Editorial and Advertising Separation Policy

The separation of advertising and editorial functions at HeyMariner is structural, operational, and enforced as a matter of company policy. The editorial team has sole authority over all editorial content decisions. The commercial team has sole responsibility for advertising relationships and revenue. These teams operate under separate reporting lines and do not share editorial planning information.

Advertisers may not: request that specific editorial content be published, amended, or suppressed in connection with their advertising relationship; request advance sight of editorial content; seek to condition their advertising spend on editorial coverage; or suggest or imply that advertising spend entitles them to favourable editorial treatment. Any such approach by an advertiser will be declined, documented, and may result in the termination of the advertising relationship.

HeyMariner's editorial team covers advertisers in exactly the same way it covers non-advertisers: with the same standards of accuracy, independence, and willingness to report facts that may be unflattering to the subject. Where editorial content is critical of an advertiser's conduct — for example, following a PSC detention, a maritime incident, or a flag state enforcement action — the editorial team's judgment on how to cover that event will not be influenced by the advertising relationship. Advertisers who find this principle unacceptable should not advertise on HeyMariner.

10. Sponsored Content Guidelines and Disclosure Requirements

Sponsored content — also referred to as native advertising or paid content — is content whose production or publication has been funded by a commercial sponsor. HeyMariner accepts sponsored content because it can provide value to our audience when it is genuinely informative, accurate, and relevant to maritime professionals. We do not accept sponsored content that is merely disguised advertising with no informational value.

All sponsored content on HeyMariner must be disclosed in accordance with the following requirements. These requirements apply regardless of the format in which the sponsored content appears:

• A "Sponsored by [Company Name]" label must appear above the headline of sponsored articles, in a contrasting colour and at a font size no smaller than the body text, before any content begins.
• The sponsored label must be repeated in the article footer.
• Sponsored content must not be formatted in a way designed to deceive readers into believing it is independent editorial content. The distinction must be immediately apparent to a reasonable reader.
• The sponsoring company must be identified by its full trading name. Anonymous or pseudonymous sponsorships are not accepted.
• If sponsored content includes claims about the sponsor's products that rely on data or studies provided by the sponsor, this must be disclosed within the content.
• Sponsored content shared on HeyMariner's social media channels carries the "#ad" or "#sponsored" label in addition to any disclosure within the article itself.

HeyMariner's editorial team reviews all sponsored content before publication for accuracy, disclosure compliance, and consistency with our content standards. The sponsor receives a copy for factual review before publication. If factual corrections are required, these are addressed in a second review cycle. The editorial team has the final decision on all questions of language, framing, and structure in sponsored content.

11. Targeting Options

HeyMariner offers contextual and demographic targeting options that allow advertisers to reach the most relevant subset of our maritime professional audience. All targeting is conducted in compliance with HeyMariner's Privacy Policy and applicable data protection law, including GDPR, the CCPA, and other applicable privacy regulations.

11.1 Geographic Targeting

Advertisements can be targeted to users in specific geographic regions, flag states, port regions, or ocean areas. Geographic targeting is useful for port advertisers, regional crewing agencies, flag state maritime administrations, and suppliers operating in specific markets. Targeting is based on browser geolocation data or user-declared location, handled in accordance with our privacy policy.

11.2 Vessel Type Targeting

Advertisements can be contextually targeted to content relevant to specific vessel types, including tankers, bulk carriers, container vessels, gas carriers, passenger ships, offshore vessels, tugs, and general cargo ships. This is implemented as content-level contextual targeting rather than user-level profiling.

11.3 Role and Seniority Targeting

Where users have created accounts on HeyMariner and declared their professional role and rank, advertising may be targeted to users who have declared roles relevant to the advertiser's product. Role targeting is consent-based and is only available for advertising displayed to logged-in users who have consented to targeted advertising in their account settings. This targeting option is useful for recruitment advertisers seeking specific ranks, and for equipment or software providers whose products are relevant to specific roles.

11.4 Port Region Targeting

Advertisements can be targeted to users reading content relating to specific ports, port regions, or port state control areas. Port region targeting is useful for port service providers, port agents, ship chandlers, and local maritime businesses serving specific ports.

12. Advertiser Data and Privacy

HeyMariner processes user data in connection with advertising in accordance with its Privacy Policy and applicable data protection law. This section summarises the key data practices relevant to advertisers.

HeyMariner does not sell user personal data to advertisers. Advertisers receive aggregated, anonymised audience data and campaign performance data. No personally identifiable information about individual users is shared with advertisers. Behavioural targeting based on cross-site tracking data from third-party data brokers is not used on HeyMariner. Where user-declared preference data is used for role or interest targeting, this is conducted on HeyMariner's own infrastructure using data provided by consenting logged-in users.

Advertising cookies used on HeyMariner are disclosed in HeyMariner's Cookie Policy and are only set following user consent through our cookie consent mechanism. Users can withdraw consent at any time, and non-consenting users will see contextual advertising not based on cookies or cross-site tracking. Advertisers who wish to use their own tracking pixels or tags on HeyMariner pages must disclose all data they intend to collect and must confirm that their data practices comply with applicable privacy law. Tracking pixels that collect data in excess of what is disclosed will be removed and the advertiser relationship suspended.

13. Ad Performance Reporting

HeyMariner provides advertisers with regular campaign performance reports. Reporting frequency and metrics vary by campaign type and are specified in the advertising agreement. Standard reporting includes impressions delivered, click-through rates, and, for contextually targeted campaigns, the content categories in which the advertising appeared.

Performance reports are provided in a clear, readable format. We do not inflate impression counts or click figures. We report only verified, non-fraudulent ad interactions. We use industry-standard viewability measurement to report on viewable impressions (where applicable) and distinguish viewable from non-viewable served impressions in reports. Advertisers who have concerns about the accuracy of reporting are invited to discuss this with their account manager and, if necessary, to request an independent audit of campaign data.

HeyMariner takes ad fraud seriously. We monitor ad traffic for bot activity and invalid traffic patterns. Impressions generated by invalid traffic are not charged to advertisers. Where we identify systematic invalid traffic directed at a specific campaign, we notify the advertiser and, where appropriate, provide a credit for affected impressions.

14. Content Review and Approval Process

All advertising creative — display ads, sponsored content, directory listings, and newsletter sponsorship copy — is reviewed by HeyMariner before publication. The review process checks for compliance with this advertising policy, the accuracy of factual claims, the clarity and compliance of disclosure labels, and the technical specifications described in Section 7.

Standard review time for display advertising is two business days. Sponsored content review takes five to seven business days, reflecting the depth of editorial review required. Directory listing review takes three business days. Advertisers should allow adequate lead time before their intended campaign start date.

HeyMariner may reject advertising creative that fails to meet the requirements of this policy, requires revision before approval, or that we determine is not appropriate for our platform in the exercise of our editorial and commercial judgment. Rejected creative will be returned to the advertiser with feedback. Revised creative may be resubmitted for a second review. Advertising that fails review a second time will not be accepted, and the advertiser will be offered a full refund of any prepaid fees relating to the rejected campaign.

15. Advertiser Code of Conduct

By advertising on HeyMariner, advertisers agree to comply with the following code of conduct throughout the duration of their advertising relationship:

• Advertisers must provide accurate information about their company, products, and services in their advertising application and in all advertising creative.
• Advertisers must notify HeyMariner promptly if any material change in their circumstances — including regulatory enforcement actions, PSC detentions, ITF actions, or sanctions designations — occurs after their initial verification.
• Advertisers must not submit approved creative assets and then substitute unapproved content after the review process. Post-approval substitution of advertising content without re-review is a material breach of this policy.
• Advertisers must not impersonate HeyMariner, its editorial team, or other advertisers or maritime organisations in their advertising creative.
• Advertisers must not use advertising placements to direct users to phishing sites, malware-infected pages, or fraudulent services.
• Advertisers must not claim in external marketing that HeyMariner endorses their products or services. Acceptance of advertising does not constitute endorsement.
• Advertisers must not approach the HeyMariner editorial team directly or indirectly with requests to influence editorial content. All advertising-related communications should be directed to the commercial team.
• Advertisers must comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including consumer protection laws, anti-spam regulations, and data protection requirements, in connection with their advertising on HeyMariner and any subsequent communications with users who interact with their advertising.

Violations of this code of conduct will result in immediate suspension of advertising, potential termination of the advertiser relationship, forfeiture of any prepaid advertising fees relating to the period of the violation, and, where the violation constitutes illegal conduct, reporting to relevant authorities.

16. Non-Discrimination Policy

HeyMariner does not discriminate in the acceptance or pricing of advertising on the basis of the advertiser's nationality, country of incorporation, flag state affiliation, or the demographic characteristics of the audience the advertiser wishes to reach, except where such discrimination is required by applicable law (for example, sanctions compliance).

Advertising accepted by HeyMariner may not itself discriminate unlawfully. Job advertising on HeyMariner must comply with applicable employment anti-discrimination law and must not specify discriminatory criteria — such as nationality, age (except where minimum age is a genuine occupational requirement), or physical characteristics not relevant to the role — as conditions of employment. Advertising that promotes or facilitates discrimination in employment, the supply of services, or access to facilities will be rejected.

We recognise that the maritime industry has historically had issues with nationality-based discrimination in crewing and hiring practices. We will not accept advertising that perpetuates or promotes discriminatory hiring practices based on seafarer nationality where such practices are prohibited by applicable law or the MLC 2006.

17. Complaints About Advertisements

HeyMariner takes complaints about advertising seriously. If you encounter an advertisement on HeyMariner that you believe violates this policy — for example, by making false safety claims, promoting a sanctioned entity, operating as a fraudulent recruitment scheme, or making misleading environmental claims — please report it to us immediately.

To report an advertising complaint, contact us with: the URL of the page where the advertisement appeared; a description of the advertisement (company name, content, format); and the specific reason you believe it violates this policy. We will acknowledge all advertising complaints within two business days, investigate as a priority, and notify you of the outcome. Where a complaint is upheld, we will remove the advertising immediately and inform the advertiser of the violation found.

Complaints about advertising that contain safety implications — for example, that an advertiser is fraudulently claiming type-approved safety equipment certifications it does not hold — are treated as urgent and escalated to senior review immediately upon receipt. We may also refer such complaints to the relevant flag state authority, class society, or maritime safety body where appropriate.

18. Contact for Advertising Enquiries

For advertising applications, media kit requests, campaign proposals, sponsored content enquiries, directory listing registrations, or to discuss custom partnership opportunities with HeyMariner's maritime audience, please contact our commercial team:

To report an advertisement you believe violates this policy, please contact us at heymariner@gmail.com with the subject line "Advertising Policy Complaint," the URL of the page where the advertisement appeared, a description of the advertisement, and the reason you believe it violates this policy.