Community Guidelines

1. Welcome to the HeyMariner Community

Welcome aboard. HeyMariner is a maritime intelligence platform built specifically for the men and women who live and work at sea — Masters, Chief Officers, Second and Third Officers, Chief Engineers, Second Engineers, Electrical Officers, Cadets, Port State Control inspectors, harbour masters, marine surveyors, naval architects, ship managers, charterers, maritime lawyers, and every other professional whose working life is shaped by the ocean. We launched on July 1, 2026, and these Community Guidelines govern the behaviour, content, and interaction standards expected of every person who participates in the HeyMariner platform.

The maritime world is unique. Seafarers operate in one of the most demanding and unforgiving environments on Earth. The decisions made on the bridge, in the engine room, and at the anchor watch carry real and immediate consequences — for the safety of the crew, the integrity of the cargo, the protection of the marine environment, and the viability of global trade. A wrong turn in a narrow channel, a misread weather forecast, a misunderstood regulation, or a missed safety alert can cost lives. This reality shapes everything about how we expect members of this community to behave.

Unlike a general social media platform, HeyMariner is a professional tool embedded in the operational fabric of the shipping industry. When a Third Officer posts a question about chart corrections in a narrow strait, another mariner's answer may influence a real passage plan. When a Chief Engineer shares a near-miss report about a fuel system fault, that information could prevent an engine room fire on another vessel. The weight of this responsibility is something we take seriously, and we ask every member to carry it with the same seriousness they would bring to their duty on watch.

These Community Guidelines are not intended to restrict legitimate professional discourse. They are intended to create a space where maritime knowledge flows freely, safely, and honestly — where a cadet from the Philippines can learn from a Master Mariner from Norway, where a port agent in Singapore can share intelligence with a vessel manager in Greece, and where the collective wisdom of the world's seafaring community can be preserved, shared, and built upon for future generations.

By using HeyMariner's community features, you agree to these guidelines in full. They complement our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which you should also read carefully. If anything in these guidelines is unclear, please contact us at heymariner@gmail.com. We are here to help.

2. Who We Are

HeyMariner was founded by maritime professionals who became frustrated with the fragmented, incomplete, and often unreliable information landscape available to seafarers. We set out to build the maritime intelligence platform we always wished existed — comprehensive, accurate, professionally curated, and genuinely useful on board.

Our core team consists of nine Master Mariners, five Chief Engineers, seventeen Officers of the Watch at various ranks, and thirteen Marine Engineers, backed by an extended network of maritime volunteers who contribute their expertise across regulations, port intelligence, weather routing, maritime law, and commercial shipping. Together, these professionals bring hundreds of combined years of seagoing experience across every major vessel type — container ships, bulk carriers, tankers (crude, product, chemical, and LPG), RoPax ferries, offshore support vessels, dredgers, and more.

Our team's operational background means that we understand what maritime information looks like when it is accurate and what it looks like when it is dangerously wrong. This understanding is the foundation of our editorial, moderation, and community standards. We are not technology generalists who happen to have built a shipping tool — we are maritime professionals who have built a platform specifically because we understand the domain.

HeyMariner is headquartered at Duncan Avenue, Jersey City NJ 07304, United States. You can reach us by email at heymariner@gmail.com, by phone and WhatsApp at +1 (267) 215-2840, or through our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Our community moderation team is drawn from these same maritime professionals, ensuring that every moderation decision is made by someone who understands the operational context in which maritime information is used. We do not outsource our moderation to individuals who lack maritime knowledge, because maritime moderation requires maritime expertise.

3. Community Values and Maritime Spirit

Every seafarer knows that a ship runs on more than fuel and machinery. It runs on the culture and character of the people on board — on the unwritten codes of seamanship that have evolved over centuries of hard experience at sea. HeyMariner's community is governed by these same enduring values.

Safety First — Always

In the maritime world, safety is not a policy — it is an imperative. Every piece of information shared on HeyMariner has the potential to influence operational decisions, and operational decisions at sea carry life-or-death consequences. We therefore expect every member to approach the sharing of maritime information with the same seriousness they would apply to a safety management system procedure, a muster list drill, or a passage plan approval.

This means being accurate before being first. It means flagging uncertainty clearly rather than projecting false confidence. It means correcting errors the moment you identify them, even if that correction reflects poorly on a previous post you made. It means never posting safety-relevant information — about routes, weather conditions, equipment behaviour, or regulatory requirements — that you are not confident is correct. When lives depend on the accuracy of maritime information, the burden of care is absolute.

If you encounter content on HeyMariner that you believe poses an active safety risk — such as a misidentified hazard, a false weather report, or dangerously incorrect navigation advice — please report it immediately using the in-platform reporting tool and, if appropriate, contact us directly at heymariner@gmail.com. For genuine maritime emergencies, always contact the relevant Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) via VHF Channel 16 or DSC.

Professional Respect

The maritime industry connects people from every corner of the world — from tiny island states with a handful of registered vessels to major maritime nations with thousands of seafarers at sea at any given moment. HeyMariner serves all of them. We expect every member to extend the same professional courtesy and respect they would expect to receive on board: to address others by their appropriate rank and title, to disagree with civility and evidence rather than with insult or dismissal, and to recognise that operational experience comes in many forms and from many traditions.

Rank and seniority should command respect but not silence legitimate questions. A cadet who identifies a potential safety concern has the same right to be heard as a Master Mariner with forty years of experience. The culture of HeyMariner should reflect the best of modern maritime safety culture: where hierarchy supports operational order but never suppresses the reporting of safety concerns.

Accuracy and Reliability

The maritime community depends on accurate information in a way that few other industries do. A cargo specification error can cause a stability incident. An incorrect tidal data entry can strand a vessel. A misunderstood regulation can result in a port state control detention. On HeyMariner, accuracy is not an aspiration — it is a minimum standard. Members are expected to verify information before sharing it, to cite authoritative sources wherever possible, and to distinguish clearly between established fact, professional opinion, and personal experience.

Solidarity Among Seafarers

Seafaring has always been a profession defined by solidarity. When a ship is in distress, other vessels respond — regardless of flag, nationality, or commercial relationship. When a seafarer is stranded in a foreign port, the maritime community rallies. HeyMariner is built on this spirit of mutual support. We expect members to help each other generously, to share knowledge freely, and to treat the questions of newer mariners with patience and encouragement rather than dismissal.

Inclusivity — All Flags, All Ranks, All Nationalities

The global fleet is crewed by seafarers from the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Ukraine, Russia, China, Myanmar, Turkey, Greece, Croatia, and dozens of other nations. Our platform serves all of them equally. Discrimination on the basis of nationality, flag state, race, religion, gender, age, disability, or any other protected characteristic is absolutely prohibited. The maritime community is stronger for its diversity, and HeyMariner reflects that strength.

4. What You Can Do — Encouraged Behaviour

HeyMariner is built on the professional knowledge of its members. The following types of contributions are actively encouraged and form the foundation of what makes this community valuable.

1. Share professional experience from sea service. Your operational experience — whether from the bridge, the engine room, the cargo hold, or the chartroom — is genuinely valuable to others. Post about passages you have completed, manoeuvres you have executed, machinery faults you have diagnosed, or cargo operations you have managed. Practical experience shared honestly and with appropriate context is one of the most powerful safety tools available to the maritime community.
2. Post port call reports and anchorage tips. Local knowledge is the currency of safe navigation. Share your experience of specific ports — the actual under-keel clearance you observed at the pilot boarding ground, the time delays at the anchorage, the quality of ship chandlers, the condition of the berth and mooring facilities, the efficiency of the port health and customs process. This information, shared honestly and recently, is often more operationally useful than what appears in official sailing directions.
3. Share weather observations and sea state reports. First-hand meteorological observations from vessels at sea are genuinely valuable — both to other mariners and, in aggregated form, to weather modelling. Share your observations of actual wind speed and direction, wave height and period, visibility, icing conditions, or fog when they differ significantly from the forecast. Clearly timestamp and geolocate your observations so they can be contextualised appropriately.
4. Ask and answer technical navigation questions. The HeyMariner community includes some of the most experienced navigators and engineers in the global fleet. If you have a question about celestial navigation, ECDIS chart management, passage planning in polar waters, Traffic Separation Scheme crossing procedures, radar plotting, or any other technical navigation matter, this is the place to ask it. Likewise, if you have expertise in any of these areas, share it generously.
5. Help fellow mariners understand maritime regulations. SOLAS, MARPOL, MLC 2006, ISPS, STCW, and the countless port state control memoranda of understanding generate a regulatory complexity that is difficult for any individual to navigate alone. If you understand a specific regulation, flag state requirement, or port state control procedure, share that understanding — clearly, accurately, and with the caveat that the primary source should always be consulted for operational decisions.
6. Share career advice and professional development guidance. The pathway from Cadet to Master or from Junior Engineer to Chief Engineer is long, challenging, and often opaque. Share your experience of flag state examinations, oral examinations, STCW refresher courses, recognition of certificates, and career transitions. Help newer mariners understand the professional landscape they are navigating.
7. Report piracy incidents and maritime security threats through proper channels. If you have experienced or witnessed an act of piracy, armed robbery at sea, or suspicious approach, share that information on HeyMariner for community awareness — but also ensure you have reported it to the relevant authority: the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (accessible 24/7 at +603-2031-0014), the relevant MRCC, your flag state administration, and the authorities of any nearby coastal state. HeyMariner piracy reports supplement but never replace official reporting obligations.
8. Discuss maritime news, policy developments, and industry trends. The shipping industry is shaped by regulatory evolution, geopolitical events, environmental policy, technological change, and market forces. Thoughtful, evidence-based discussion of these developments — from the implications of the IMO 2050 decarbonisation strategy to the impact of sanctions on specific trade routes — enriches the community and helps maritime professionals make sense of the world they operate in.
9. Share near-miss reports and lessons learned. A maritime safety culture cannot function without honest reporting of near-misses and incidents. Share sanitised near-miss reports (with personally identifying and commercially sensitive information removed) to help others learn from close calls without the associated harm. Near-miss reporting is one of the most powerful preventive tools in maritime safety, and HeyMariner wants to be a platform that makes that culture thrive.
10. Contribute to the maritime knowledge base. HeyMariner maintains a growing knowledge base covering navigation, engineering, regulations, port intelligence, meteorology, and maritime law. If you have expertise in any of these areas and are willing to contribute structured, accurate content to this resource, we welcome your participation. Contact us to discuss becoming a recognised contributor.
11. Mentor junior maritime professionals. Experience is the most valuable commodity in the maritime industry, and mentorship is the mechanism through which it is transmitted. If you are a senior officer or engineer, consider taking time to answer questions from cadets and junior officers on the platform. The investment of your time and knowledge today makes the global fleet safer tomorrow.

5. What Is Not Allowed — Prohibited Behaviour

The following behaviours and types of content are strictly prohibited on HeyMariner. Violations may result in immediate content removal, account suspension, or permanent ban, depending on severity. Some violations may also be referred to law enforcement or maritime authorities.

1. Posting false safety information. Deliberately sharing inaccurate information about hazards to navigation, unsafe routes, vessel conditions, weather, or any other safety-relevant topic is strictly prohibited and will result in immediate account suspension. The maritime community relies on the accuracy of safety information to protect lives. False safety information is not merely a terms-of-service violation — it is a threat to human life.
2. Fake AIS data or position spoofing claims without evidence. Sharing fabricated AIS position reports, promoting AIS spoofing techniques, providing instructions for manipulating transponder data, or making unsubstantiated claims about AIS spoofing of specific vessels without verified evidence is prohibited. AIS data underpins collision avoidance and maritime domain awareness globally. Interference with this system, even in simulation or discussion, poses serious safety risks.
3. Personal attacks on officers, crew, or any individual. Targeting, harassing, bullying, or threatening any individual — whether a HeyMariner member or a person discussed on the platform — is prohibited. This includes targeted criticism of a named seafarer's professional decisions without appropriate context and evidence, public shaming, or sustained campaign-style harassment.
4. Sharing confidential vessel or crew data. Posting or distributing confidential vessel documents — including Ship Security Plans, emergency response procedures, proprietary technical manuals, or commercially sensitive cargo documents — without appropriate authorisation is prohibited. Equally, sharing personal data about seafarers — including passport details, CDC numbers, STCW certificate information, home addresses, or medical records — without their explicit consent is a serious violation of privacy law and maritime professional ethics.
5. Commercial spam and unsolicited solicitation. Sending unsolicited commercial messages, posting bulk advertising content, or using the community platform primarily as a vehicle for commercial promotion is prohibited. Designated commercial areas of the platform may be used for legitimate business promotion in accordance with our Advertising Policy.
6. Sharing copyrighted official publications illegally. Reproducing full text from IMO publications, SOLAS/MARPOL annexes, STCW Convention text, Classification Society rules, ICS publications, BIMCO contracts, or any other copyrighted maritime publication without authorisation is prohibited. Summarise, link, and cite — do not copy.
7. Hate speech based on nationality, rank, gender, or any other characteristic. Content that demeans, dehumanises, or expresses hatred toward any individual or group on the basis of nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any other protected characteristic is absolutely prohibited and will result in immediate account termination.
8. Misinformation about maritime regulations. Deliberately spreading false or misleading information about SOLAS, MARPOL, MLC 2006, STCW, port state control requirements, or any other maritime regulation — particularly if this misinformation could lead another mariner to take an illegal or unsafe action — is prohibited.
9. Content that undermines maritime safety culture. This includes glorifying reckless seamanship, encouraging non-compliance with safety management system procedures, dismissing the importance of STCW rest hour requirements, or trivialising incidents that resulted in harm. Maritime safety culture is hard-won and fragile — we will not permit content that erodes it.
10. False distress signals or simulated emergencies. Posting, simulating, or encouraging the transmission of false MAYDAY, PAN-PAN, or SECURITE calls, or fabricating distress scenarios, is a criminal offence under the laws of most flag states and is absolutely prohibited on HeyMariner. Such content will be referred to maritime authorities immediately.
11. Sanctions evasion guidance. Providing advice, techniques, or operational guidance on circumventing international trade sanctions, flag state sanctions, or port state control restrictions — including ship-to-ship transfer techniques used to obscure cargo origin or AIS manipulation for sanctions evasion purposes — is strictly prohibited and may be referred to relevant law enforcement authorities.
12. Piracy and armed robbery facilitation. Any content that aids, glorifies, provides operational intelligence for, or celebrates acts of piracy, armed robbery at sea, or maritime terrorism is prohibited and will be referred to maritime law enforcement authorities including the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre and relevant national agencies.
13. Impersonation of maritime authorities or officials. Impersonating a MRCC officer, port state control inspector, flag state administrator, coastguard officer, or any other maritime authority figure — whether for deceptive purposes or as an apparent joke — is prohibited.
14. Posting ISPS-restricted security information. Uploading, linking to, or describing the contents of Ship Security Plans (SSPs), Port Facility Security Plans (PFSPs), Company Security Plans, or any other document designated restricted under the ISPS Code is prohibited. The security of vessels, ports, and the people who work in them depends on these documents remaining confidential.
15. Automated abuse and scraping without authorisation. Using automated tools, bots, or scripts to create content, send messages, scrape maritime data, or artificially inflate engagement metrics is prohibited. If you are a maritime software developer or researcher interested in accessing HeyMariner data programmatically, please contact us to discuss authorised API access.

6. Reporting Violations

Every member of the HeyMariner community shares responsibility for maintaining the standards set out in these guidelines. If you encounter content or behaviour that you believe violates these guidelines, we ask you to report it promptly. Your report helps protect the safety of the entire community.

Every post, comment, profile, and piece of user-generated content on HeyMariner includes a report option accessible via the context menu (the three-dot or flag icon adjacent to the content). When filing a report, please:

• Select the most accurate category from the report menu — this helps our moderation team prioritise and route your report correctly
• Provide a brief, clear description of why you believe the content violates these guidelines
• Include any supporting context — for example, if the content contains false navigational information, include what you know to be the correct information and your source
• If the violation involves an ongoing interaction such as harassment, document the pattern by including multiple examples if possible

For urgent safety matters — content that may indicate an active distress situation, an imminent threat to life or vessel safety, or an ongoing criminal act — please contact us directly at heymariner@gmail.com or by WhatsApp at +1 (267) 215-2840. For genuine maritime emergencies, always contact the relevant MRCC directly via VHF Channel 16 or DSC — HeyMariner is not an emergency communication channel.

All reports are treated as confidential. The person you report will not be notified of your identity. We do not penalise good-faith reports even if the reported content is ultimately found not to violate our guidelines. Abuse of the reporting system — for example, filing false reports to harass another user — is itself a violation of these guidelines.

7. Moderation Process and Appeal

HeyMariner employs a moderation system that combines automated content detection with human review by maritime professionals. Our moderation team includes certified mariners and engineers who understand the technical, operational, and regulatory context of content posted on the platform — because maritime moderation requires maritime expertise.

Initial Review

Upon receiving a report, our system acknowledges receipt automatically. Human moderation review follows, with priority based on severity. Content flagged as potentially involving an active safety threat or the prohibited categories listed in Section 5 is escalated for immediate review. Standard reports are reviewed within 72 hours, and we aim to communicate an outcome to the reporting user within that timeframe.

Our moderators approach each case by first seeking to understand the context in which the content was posted. Maritime terminology, abbreviations, and operational shorthand can be misinterpreted by those without seafaring knowledge. A comment about a "collision situation" means something very specific in the context of COLREGS and does not imply actual physical contact. Our moderators understand these distinctions.

Moderation Actions

Moderation actions are calibrated to the severity of the violation and may include: no action (report dismissed as unfounded); a note to the author requesting voluntary correction; content editing or partial removal; full content removal; a formal warning to the account holder; temporary account suspension; or permanent account termination. We always aim to take the least restrictive action appropriate to the situation, but we act decisively when safety or security is at risk.

Appeals

If you believe a moderation action taken against your content or account was incorrect, you may appeal within 30 days of the action. To appeal, email heymariner@gmail.com with the subject line "Moderation Appeal — [your username]". Your appeal should include: the specific action being appealed; the date it occurred; a clear explanation of why you believe it was incorrect; and any relevant context or evidence. Appeals are reviewed by a senior moderator who was not involved in the original decision. We aim to respond within 14 business days.

8. Consequences of Violations

HeyMariner operates a graduated enforcement system that reflects the severity and context of violations. We recognise that well-intentioned maritime professionals can occasionally post content that inadvertently breaches these guidelines, and we approach first-time minor violations accordingly. However, the safety-critical nature of the maritime domain means that serious violations are treated with corresponding seriousness.

Formal Warning

Issued for minor first-time violations where context suggests the breach was inadvertent. The content is removed and the account holder is notified with an explanation of which guideline was breached and how. A formal warning is recorded on the account and is taken into account if further violations occur. No further action is taken at this stage.

Temporary Suspension

Applied for repeated minor violations, a single moderate violation, or failure to comply with the terms of a previous warning. Suspension periods typically range from 7 to 30 days, depending on severity. During a temporary suspension, the account retains read access to public content but cannot post, comment, upload, or message other users. The account holder is notified of the suspension, its duration, and the specific grounds for the action.

Permanent Ban

Reserved for the most serious violations — including any of the categorically prohibited content listed in Section 5, sustained patterns of misconduct across multiple violations, creation of accounts whose primary purpose appears to be to violate these guidelines, or conduct that has resulted in real-world harm to maritime safety. Permanently banned accounts lose all access to HeyMariner's community features. We reserve the right to withhold specific reasons for permanent termination where disclosure would compromise ongoing security investigations or legal proceedings.

Referral to Authorities

In cases involving content that appears to constitute a criminal offence — including false distress signals, piracy facilitation, sanctions evasion, or other criminal acts — HeyMariner reserves the right to refer the matter to relevant law enforcement or maritime authorities, including the IMO, flag state administrations, port state control authorities, coastguard services, and law enforcement agencies. Such referrals may occur concurrently with or independently of any in-platform moderation action.

9. Specific Rules for Different Content Types

Forum Posts and Discussion Threads

Forum posts should be relevant to the topic of the thread in which they appear. Stay on topic, use accurate terminology, clearly distinguish personal opinion from established fact, and cite your sources when making technical claims. If you are asking a question, provide enough context for others to give a useful answer — vessel type, flag state, specific regulation in question, or passage area, as appropriate.

Vessel Reviews and Port Reviews

Vessel and port reviews should be based on direct personal experience. Clearly state your rank, the approximate date of your port call or vessel service, and the nature of your interaction. Reviews should be honest, factual, and balanced — praising what deserves praise and criticising what deserves criticism, with specific examples where possible. Do not post reviews of vessels or ports you have not personally visited or served on. Do not post fake or commercially motivated reviews.

Safety Alerts and Near-Miss Reports

Safety alerts and near-miss reports are among the most valuable contributions any maritime professional can make to the community. When posting such reports, include sufficient detail to be operationally useful — vessel type (but not necessarily vessel name), area, date range, circumstances, and lessons identified. Remove personally identifying information about crew members and commercially sensitive vessel identity information unless this is strictly necessary for safety purposes. Always ensure the incident has been properly reported through official channels (ISM non-conformity report, flag state incident report, port authority report) before or alongside posting on HeyMariner.

Photos and Videos from Vessels

Photography and video from vessels is permitted subject to the following conditions: you must have the right to share the content (it must be your own work or content you have been explicitly authorised to share); it must not reveal ISPS-restricted security information such as access points, security patrol patterns, or restricted areas; it must not include identifiable personal data about crew members without their consent; and it must comply with any applicable company policy or port authority restrictions on photography. Never photograph cargo documentation, chart overlays with strategic route information, or security system displays.

Crew Profiles and Professional Information

Your HeyMariner profile should accurately represent your professional background, rank, and experience. Do not misrepresent your qualifications, certifications, or rank — the maritime community relies on professional credentials being authentic. Do not include false or misleading information about your sea service history. You are not required to share your full name or contact details on your public profile, and we encourage members to share only the professional information they are comfortable with being publicly visible.

10. Maritime Professional Verification

HeyMariner offers an optional professional verification programme for maritime professionals. Verified members receive a badge on their profile indicating their verified rank or professional role. Verification is based on documentary evidence of STCW-compliant certificates of competency, watch-keeping certificates, engineering certificates, or equivalent professional credentials recognised under applicable convention.

Verification is voluntary, but it confers additional credibility within the community and may unlock access to certain professional discussion areas and content categories. Providing false documentation for the purpose of obtaining verification is a serious violation of these guidelines and may constitute fraud under applicable law. If you believe a verified member's credentials are falsely stated, please report this to us directly.

Verification does not grant any special exemption from these Community Guidelines. Verified members are held to the same — and in some respects, higher — standards as unverified members, given that their status implies an elevated level of professional responsibility.

To apply for professional verification, contact us at heymariner@gmail.com with your professional credentials. We aim to process verification requests within 10 business days.

11. Privacy of Fellow Mariners

Seafarers are entitled to a reasonable expectation of privacy, particularly given the unique vulnerabilities of their profession. Long periods away from home, communication limitations, and the global movement of vessels create specific privacy risks that the maritime community must take seriously.

Do not share, solicit, or publish the personal data of fellow mariners without their explicit consent. This includes home addresses, family information, personal contact numbers, immigration documents, medical information, disciplinary records, or financial details. Do not post photographs that show identifiable crew members without their consent. Do not disclose the personal location of a seafarer — including their current vessel and position — in a context that could compromise their personal safety.

Vessel AIS position data is publicly broadcast and may be discussed in its aggregated, public form. However, using public AIS data to track the movements of a specific individual seafarer for personal, non-professional reasons — particularly in a way that could be used to stalk, harass, or harm that individual — is a violation of these guidelines.

If you encounter what you believe to be a privacy violation affecting a fellow mariner, please report it immediately using the in-platform reporting tool or by contacting us directly. We treat privacy violations with the same seriousness as safety violations.

12. Commercial Activity in the Community

HeyMariner recognises that many of our members are engaged in legitimate commercial maritime activities — as ship agents, ship chandlers, equipment suppliers, maritime recruitment agencies, maritime training providers, classification society surveyors, marine insurance brokers, and more. We welcome the participation of commercial maritime professionals, subject to clear boundaries.

Commercial promotion — advertising products, services, or business offerings — is permitted only in designated commercial areas of the platform, such as the marketplace, supplier directory, or classified listings sections. It is not permitted in general community discussion forums, safety discussion areas, technical Q&A sections, or member profiles (beyond a brief professional affiliation). Inserting commercial links or promotional language into educational or safety-focused discussion threads is prohibited.

When you discuss maritime products, equipment, or services in a community context, disclose any commercial relationship or material interest you have in that product or service. If you represent a company whose product you are discussing, say so. The community can then evaluate your contribution with appropriate context. Undisclosed commercial promotion masquerading as independent professional opinion is a form of deception that undermines trust in the community.

Maritime training providers and educational institutions may share information about courses and qualifications in relevant educational discussion areas, provided this is done in a manner that is genuinely informative rather than primarily promotional. For formal advertising partnerships, please consult our Advertising Policy or contact us directly.

13. Content Ownership and Licensing

You retain ownership of the original content you create and post on HeyMariner — your forum posts, your port call reports, your near-miss narratives, your professional observations, and your photographs. By posting content on the platform, you grant HeyMariner a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to display, distribute, and reproduce that content within the platform and in platform communications (such as newsletters or social media posts), with appropriate attribution.

This licence does not allow HeyMariner to sell your individual content to third parties as a standalone product, and we do not do so. We may, however, aggregate anonymised community data — such as the most commonly discussed ports, the most frequently asked regulatory questions, or the geographic distribution of weather observations — for research, product improvement, and editorial purposes.

You are responsible for ensuring that the content you post does not infringe the intellectual property rights of others. Do not reproduce verbatim text from copyrighted publications, upload files you do not have the right to share, or use others' content — including photographs — without appropriate permission or citation. We take copyright infringement seriously and will respond to valid DMCA takedown notices in accordance with our DMCA Policy.

If you delete your account, your publicly posted content may remain on the platform in anonymised form unless you specifically request its full deletion as part of the account closure process. Please review our Privacy Policy for full details on data retention and deletion rights.

14. Language Policy

English is the primary working language of international maritime communication, as established under SOLAS Chapter V and the ITU Radio Regulations. It is therefore the primary language of HeyMariner's community discussion areas. Posting in English ensures the widest possible reach within the global maritime community and facilitates moderation by our team.

However, we recognise that English is not the first language of the majority of the world's seafarers, and we genuinely welcome contributions in other languages. Members are welcome to post in their native language when they are more comfortable doing so, with the understanding that content in languages other than English may take longer to moderate and may reach a smaller audience. Where possible, we encourage members to provide an English summary of non-English posts to maximise the value of the contribution.

Standard of English grammar and spelling will never be used as grounds for dismissing a genuine contribution. What matters is the accuracy and professionalism of the content, not linguistic perfection. We ask all members to extend patience and respect to those communicating in their second or third language.

All formal policy documents, moderation communications, and official HeyMariner content are published in English. Translations may be provided for informational purposes but the English version is authoritative.

15. Relationship with Official Maritime Authorities

HeyMariner is a professional community and intelligence platform — it is not an official maritime authority, a flag state administration, a classification society, a coastguard, or an MRCC. We always defer to the official requirements of international maritime conventions, flag state legislation, and port state control regulations. Nothing shared on HeyMariner — by our team, our contributors, or our community members — overrides or supersedes the requirements of SOLAS, MARPOL, MLC 2006, STCW, the ISM Code, the ISPS Code, or any other applicable convention, regulation, or official guidance.

When community discussion touches on regulatory requirements, members should make clear whether they are sharing the official regulatory text, their professional interpretation of that text, or their practical operational experience of how regulations are applied. These are distinct and members should not present personal interpretation as official requirement.

HeyMariner cooperates fully with maritime authorities, including the IMO, EMSA, flag state administrations, port state control MoUs, and national coastguard and maritime police services, in accordance with applicable law. This cooperation includes responding to lawful requests for information in the context of maritime safety investigations, criminal investigations related to maritime incidents, or port state control inquiries.

We encourage all members to maintain their primary reporting obligations through official channels — ISM non-conformity reporting, flag state incident reporting, port state control interaction, and GMDSS safety communications — independently of and in addition to any engagement with the HeyMariner community.

16. Community Moderation Team

HeyMariner's community moderation team is composed of maritime professionals drawn from our core team of Master Mariners, Chief Engineers, Officers, and Engineers. Every member of the moderation team holds relevant maritime certificates or professional credentials and has operational seagoing or maritime industry experience.

Our moderation team operates under detailed internal guidelines that require consistent, impartial, and evidence-based application of these Community Guidelines. Moderators do not moderate based on the viewpoints expressed in content — only on whether that content complies with these guidelines. Moderators are required to recuse themselves from moderation decisions in which they have a personal or commercial interest.

Our moderation team is supported by a network of maritime volunteers who contribute their expertise in specific domains — such as MARPOL regulations, port state control procedures, or specific vessel type operations — to assist with moderation decisions in areas requiring specialised knowledge.

Moderators are not available 24 hours a day across all time zones. We prioritise safety-critical content for urgent review. If you believe a piece of content poses an immediate safety risk, please use both the in-platform reporting tool and contact us directly at heymariner@gmail.com or by WhatsApp at +1 (267) 215-2840 to ensure the fastest possible response.

17. Contact and Appeals

We are committed to being accessible and responsive to every member of the HeyMariner community. If you have questions about these Community Guidelines, concerns about how they have been applied, or feedback on how we can improve our community standards, we welcome your contact.

For moderation appeals, please email us with the subject line "Moderation Appeal — [your username]" within 30 days of the moderation action. For general community questions, use the subject line "Community Guidelines Query". We aim to respond to all enquiries within 5 business days and to moderation appeals within 14 business days.

These Community Guidelines were last updated on June 19, 2026. We review and update them periodically as our community grows and as the maritime information landscape evolves. Significant changes will be communicated to registered members by email. Your continued use of HeyMariner community features following any update constitutes acceptance of the revised guidelines.