In conversation with Capt. Pavlos Filippakis
Capt. Filippakis came to large-yacht command from a career in LNG and has led a complex refit and a subsequent pole-to-pole voyage on the owner-operated yacht he now commands. We put five questions to him on the captain’s loyalty problem: the introduction route, the broker call, the referral-fee question, the disclosure rule, and the first conversation a first-time owner should have with a captain candidate. Answers are given on the record, lightly edited for length and clarity.
When you are introduced to an owner, who has typically already introduced you? Broker, prior captain, recruitment agency, family office? How does the introduction route shape what happens next?
In my case, I had met the Owner randomly in person, and he was directly involved in operating his asset. It allowed a working — and personal — relationship to develop faster. The latter enhances loyalty.
However, I believe the layer of external recruiters and management companies between hiring brings a lot of merit in this aspect, because it will make your Captain personally accountable to more parties.
And with that layer usually comes a process that streamlines expectations for both sides and reduces the chance of a wrong hire. The heavy burden of carrying a reference from leading industry peers also plays a big part in how your Captain carries himself. It certainly does for me.
Tell me about a time a broker called you with a charter request, a yacht acquisition referral, or a supplier introduction. What did the relationship look like before that call, and what was implied by the request?
I’ve had both cold calls and acquaintances reaching out. It’s a necessary part of a broker’s life to source as many leads as possible, and I respect that.
In the same way, it’s a necessary part on the Captain’s side to manage that without endangering the Owner’s reputation, his own, or his contacts.
Many times the requests are harmless — a simple introduction between acquaintances. Sometimes they come with caveats. Politely declining those without damaging the relationship is an art that each Captain has to master.
Have you been offered a referral fee, finder’s commission, or any other contingent payment by a broker, yard, supplier, management company, or recruitment agency? Without naming the firm, what was offered, and what did you do?
It certainly has happened, and the fees would range widely.
I’ve left a very lucrative career on LNG for the privilege of leading remote expeditions. My grandfather was also a Captain, and following Greek tradition, I carry his exact name — which carries a certain weight in how I perceive my reputation in this industry.
And beyond that, I ask myself a simpler question: if you accept a fee for giving out the work, how can you still audit the quality of the result you are directly responsible for?
You can’t. So for me it’s not really a question.
The OnboardOnline legal column has stated the disclosure rule plainly: referral fees are legal only if disclosed. Is the disclosure rule observed in practice, or worked around?
Personally, I’ve never seen referral fees in a contract, but I also have never been in a situation where referral fees had to be implemented.
What would you tell a first-time owner to ask in the first conversation with a captain candidate to surface these incentives without making it adversarial?
I think this is one of the most difficult assessments to make in a single conversation, and the truth is you cannot fully make it — you confirm or refute it over the first year. But there is one question that opens the right door without being adversarial:
“Which brokers and yards do you have the strongest relationships with, and how did those relationships develop?”
It’s a fair question. Any captain operating at this level has them, and a confident captain will answer specifically — he’ll name people, say how he came to know them, describe what each is good at.
The candidate who goes vague, or who claims no strong relationships, is harder to read in a way that matters. Specificity is the tell. A captain who is comfortable being precise about his network is usually comfortable being precise about everything else, too — including what he chooses, and why.