Scope first
Governing: CYC 2025 (5th ed. Rev 1) ss.1 and 3; MS Notice 194. Builds on: nothing. Start here.
The edition you are working to
The fifth edition of the Commercial Yacht Code replaced CYC 2020 and took effect on 1 July 2025 (MS Notice 194, which also revoked MS Notice 164). A yacht already certified to CYC 2020 has until its first renewal survey carried out after 31 December 2025 to comply. Where an existing yacht or a newbuild with keel laid before the revision cannot meet a section, the attending surveyor may propose a phased timescale or equivalents (CYC 1.4). Quote the edition in your manning application; surveyors notice.
Is the yacht inside the Code?
CYC 3.1.1 applies to motor and sailing yachts intended for commercial operations, carrying no more than 12 passengers, of 24 m Length or more. "Length" here is the Load Line Convention Article 2(8) length, not the brochure LOA.
| Situation | Code |
|---|---|
| Commercial, 12 passengers or fewer, Length 24 m or more | CYC 2025 |
| Commercial, hull length (ISO 8666) 12 m or more, Length under 24 m | Small Commercial Yacht Code (sCYC) |
| Hull length under 24 m but LL Length 24 m or more | CYC 2025 (3.1.3) |
| Pleasure yacht not in commercial use | Outside the CYC (see lesson 5.2) |
| More than 12 passengers | Outside the CYC |
Two traps. First, a 20–35 m LOA yacht whose Load Line Length is measured under 24 m must send the measurement and scaled drawings to yachtsmalta.tm@transport.gov.mt before the initial CYC survey starts (3.1.4). Second, a "passenger" excludes crew, anyone employed on the yacht's business, people carried under the duty to rescue, and children under one year. Support personnel such as nannies and security guards are a separate category (lesson 4.4).
CAUTION — Outdated web wording The TM CYC web page still describes the Code as applying from 15 m. The Code itself says 24 m and sends 12–24 m yachts to the sCYC. Work from the Code.
Tonnage bands
The Code has two categories: under 500 GT and 500 GT and over (3.1.5). GT is measured under the 1969 Tonnage Convention. The manning tables split the lower category again at 200 GT, so in practice you work in three bands: under 200, 200 to under 500, and 500 and over.
Navigation notations
Each yacht gets one of three notations (CYC 1.6):
| Notation | Limit |
|---|---|
| Short Range | within 60 nm of a safe haven |
| Extended Short Range | within 150 nm of a safe haven |
| Unrestricted | no distance limit |
A safe haven is a harbour or shelter of any kind that can be entered with prudence in the prevailing weather and gives protection from it. A Short Range yacht may be allowed a transfer voyage beyond its limit, but only with no passengers aboard and under agreed precautions.
WARNING — SR is not ESR CYC 3.9.2: a requirement written for a Short Range yacht never applies to an Extended Short Range yacht, and the reverse is also true. This matters for the Assistant Engineer note in the manning tables (lesson 2.2).
Why this matters for manning
Every cell in the section 17 tables is found from two coordinates: the tonnage band and the distance from a safe haven. Get either wrong and the whole crew list is wrong. Before you count heads, check the Certificate of Registry for GT and the Commercial Yacht Certificate for the notation.