Welcome to the second blog in our series about the Superyacht Training Group. This week we take a look at the work of member companies, Red Square Medical, Da Gama Maritime and OceanWave Monaco. Our aim is to give you an insight into the background of the Superyacht training group members to help you to understand the benefit of working together with the group companies. 

Red Square Medical specialises in medical training and operational support for the maritime industry, covering the commercial, cruise and Superyacht sectors. 


Liz Baugh, Lead Medical Consultant was introduced to the STG in 2021 and was fascinated by the concept of a group of companies working together to support the Superyacht industry. Red Square Medical was recommended when the STG was looking for a medical support company and she loves the joined up approach to training and the idea that they could provide a training program that encompasses fire drills, casualties and helicopter medevac (just as a starter!). This filled Liz with confidence that there really were other companies out there that believe in a multi disciplinary approach to training onboard, as much as the Red Square Medical team does.


The Red Square Medical team have all operated in remote and austere environments and fully understand the needs of such a niche and specialist industry. Delivering medical care on a boat can be tricky enough, especially if there is no dedicated Paramedic or Nurse onboard. But add to that the increase in vessels travelling to locations off the beaten track, guests requesting more extreme activities, and an expansion of fun ‘toys’... and it makes things a whole lot more difficult in an emergency.


Working and training with the crew, in their environment, and with their kit can make a huge difference to both individual and team confidence. Practising drills develops familiarity with kit, muscle memory and teamwork, to make medical incidents easier to manage and much less stressful for everyone onboard. Integrating drills, such as fire and medical, can provide even more in depth knowledge and confidence.


In addition, there’s the management of the aftermath of an incident onboard. How to manage crew and guests, how to debrief successfully and look out for each other. Medical really is a world of its own and we never quite know how managing an incident or playing our part will affect us.


Red Square Medical is proud to bring this expertise to the STG and collaborate with other like-minded companies to provide a unique service to the Superyacht Industry. The quality of the other members who are all excellent ambassadors for safety, and a robust safety culture onboard. STG members don’t just ‘tick the box’, they aim for gold standard and when Liz saw that desire in the other members, it was definitely something Red Square Medical wanted to be part of.


For clients, having access to a vetted group of companies, held accountable for their actions within the group, keeps the standards high. This ensures the client is getting current, credible training from professionals with decades of experience.


Membership has resulted in a number of new clients already, and all have requested regular onboard training. Every member of Red Square Medical is passionate about medical care and first aid onboard and are delighted to bring our years of knowledge and experience to the other group members and our clients.


Liz loves the professionalism of other STG members; all have exacting standards, but are fun to be around. She’s learnt a lot from them and as someone committed to constant improvement, it’s fabulous to have access to such a wealth of knowledge and experience. 

Steve Monk, and the team at Da Gama Maritime have been providing onboard crew training since 2010. He noticed that they were meeting and hearing about the same companies involved in training in the industry, especially when operating with new builds or post refit vessels. So it made sense for those companies to work more closely together to help promote safety at sea and enhance the crew skills, specific to the vessel they’re working on.


This collaboration-style approach provides a source of tried and tested companies available to support the vessel, while the key benefit of onboard training is to realign to vessel specific procedures in order to keep the crew and guests safe.


Steve firmly believes that successful training isn’t just what you achieve in a classroom or simulator. STCW sets the minimum standard, but in order to improve on this, crew need to continue to train and update themselves on procedure and regulation changes. Training isn’t just one day or a course, it’s a commitment to excellence.


Onboard training doesn’t counter anything learnt ashore; it refines it. Crew and the Captain can refresh skills and develop procedures for their own vessel. It means everyone involved has a clearer picture of what they are trying to achieve and why.


Da Gama Maritime has provided onboard training to a range of vessels, ranging from 40m to over 300m, in the commercial and Superyacht sectors. They can offer onboard training to cover:

  • Firefighting
  • Bridge navigation procedures
  • ECDIS operation and risk assessments
  • Crowd control
  • MCA accredited Crisis Management and Human Behaviour

Going forward, Da Gama Maritime would love to see onboard training taken seriously and given greater recognition by owners, management and Flag. The intention of the STG is to grow, to bring in additional training providers for areas not yet covered and for those who train in an area already serviced by a STG member, to ensure the standards are the same. 


Creating commonality reduces the risk of confusion, so making sure standards remain at the highest level, industry-wide, is so important. It’s vital that any training conducted must be the same, no matter who is teaching it and where in the world it is. 

OceanWave Monaco provides bespoke training for yacht crews, with dedicated centres in Monaco and Antibes, plus the option of onboard training. 


The team were first introduced to Steve Monk of Da Gama Maritime by Kim Woodey and this resulted in an invitation to join the group. The idea of a ‘one stop shop’ really appealed. Additionally the fact that OceanWave Monaco offers training for interior crew, which no one else in the group does, means there is no conflict with other group partners. 


All of the trainers have worked in yachting, which means that they have a comprehensive understanding of the industry and what it really means to work onboard a Superyacht. This kind of training helps yacht crew put their skills to the test, while working in a collaborative way to help advance their knowledge. 


With the offer of training onboard and ashore, it provides options to fit in with a vessel's schedule. In addition, the option of onboard training allows the opportunity for crew to train in familiar surroundings, using the equipment they have access to every day.


Training can be provided for:

  • The Ships Cook Certificate Assessment
  • Food Safety
  • RYA Powerboat Level 2
  • New build projects
  • Galley operations and SOPs
  • Interior Training in conjunction with KDW Training.

The OceanWave Monaco team firmly believe that being a member of the STG gives clients some confidence as all companies involved offer high standards of training, across many areas, with immediate access to training providers who are considered the best in their field. For OceanWave Monaco, this has resulted in a very credible presence in the industry.


OceanWave Monaco brings a huge wealth of knowledge with regards to interior training, and continuous training development within the yachting industry. Collaborating with such wide-ranging training providers, all committed to promoting expertise, professionalism and safer working practices onboard, offers a unique resource within the industry that they are proud to be part of.

For more information about services offered by Superyacht Training Group companies, or if you’re interested in joining, please visit the website at: https://superyachttraining.org/


To learn more about the members and follow our progress, you can find our social media channels here:


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Or download the brochure here

The Recovery Position - an STCW refresh

by Rachel Smith • 18 December 2024
Welcome to our December blog, which is all about the recovery position and how to manage an unconscious casualty who is breathing normally. Unconsciousness is a medical emergency as the person is very vulnerable and may not be able to manage their own airway effectively. We also need to think about the cause of unconsciousness. Is it a simple fainting episode due to illness? Is it a massive hemorrhage causing hypovolemic shock? Or is it due to some kind of external factor or injury? This blog looks at how to manage an unconscious casualty. So, if we have a casualty who is unconscious, but who is breathing normally for themselves, and we’re not suspecting a serious injury, the recovery position is the best position to use while monitoring them. The recovery position keeps their airway open and makes sure that vomit or liquid won’t cause them to choke.

Revisiting our guest blogs

by Rachel Smith • 11 December 2024
All the guest blogs! When we started adding blogs to our website back in early 2021, we did a little feature on each of our instructors of the time. They’re quite a fascinating bunch and the series proved quite popular amongst our followers. In addition to our amazing instructors, we work with some utterly incredible human beings all over the world, and the idea of sharing their stories grew and developed into what eventually became a monthly guest blog. It’s been interesting to find out more about how medical care at sea or in remote locations features in their work, and to discover a few fun facts along the way. This month, we thought that it might be a fun idea to give you a chance to go back into the archives and review all the guest blogs over the last few years! Maybe even let us know which your favourite one is?

Cayman Maritime Report 2023

by Rachel Smith • 27 November 2024
We’ve taken a look at the 2023 Casualty Summary Report from the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands (MACI) to see what kind of incidents and trends their data shows us, even with relatively small data sets, and how this may be able to transfer to our own risk assessments and actual practice. You can find the report here: Cayman Maritime Report 2023 The first thing we noted was the authors note that the data is split out into incidents. This means that one incident may include a number of events. So a collision and any resulting injury is one incident, but is reported as two events, or more, if more than one person is injured. It made us wonder whether this method of reporting by an authority represents how incidents are reported onboard and whether it should be a consideration? Of course, for any set of statistics presented at the moment, we also have to consider the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact this has on trends including that period. While essential shipping continued, the cruise and superyacht sectors reduced activity and staffing, often to a skeleton crew while anchored somewhere. So this will be reflected in the historic data sets that we analyse from 2019 to 2021 and may not accurately reflect increases and decreases during and since then. In some situations, we may need to look further back for accurate data. We also need to consider whether increases in incidents and events is also down to increased reporting - suggesting an improvement in the awareness of reporting requirements and greater engagement from the industry and individual sectors - this can only be a good development. Since 2020, the type of injury has been recorded in 8 different categories, with hand and foot injuries topping the leaderboard, closely followed by head, body, and back injuries. So if you were looking to run drills, or practise medical skills, these would be the key areas to cover. Only one death was an occupational accident, and is being investigated here: MAIB Investigations (search for case #9229607). It relates to a fall down a ventilation shaft on a bulk carrier in a Greek shipyard. The full report was still pending at the time of writing. Merchant ships are heavily regulated by a number of authorities, and the requirements for personal protective equipment and safe systems of work are enforced and applied to reduce accidents and incidents onboard. This has led to a lower reporting of incidents than in the commercial yacht sector. Could there be room for improvement here in this area? We certainly think so. Many of the hand and foot injuries reported can be career ending or life changing, but are preventable. Follow up has shown that there is a link here with injuries being sustained when inappropriate or no PPE was used. The supply and use of appropriate PPE is mandatory on vessels subject to the MLC and it’s worth remembering that some PPE can be produced in styles and designs compatible with the aesthetics of a yacht if required! On a much wider scale, a lack of transparency and standardisation globally can affect the collection of data and the issue of under reporting. While the MACI figures may be accurate, we need other accurate figures to compare them to, in order to build a bigger picture across the world as we have in aviation. From December 2024, the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) will be enforcing an amendment so that seafarer deaths will be recorded and reported annually. The MACI and Cayman Islands Shipping Registry produces a number of safety flyers that are publicly available HERE that may be useful. In summary, analysing data can sometimes result in more questions than answers. But even this can lead to interesting and important developments that result in improved safety and reduced incidents and accidents onboard. Key points to take from this report are: Use the correct PPE for the task. Employ approved systems of work and risk assessments for the task. Reporting is key for safety in the future of our industry. Enjoy a night ashore, but don’t over do the cocktails! As always, if you’d like any input on medical training onboard or ashore, or drills that you can run yourselves, please just get in touch. References: https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1145359/Increase-in-incidents-of-deaths-at-sea

James Griffiths - Guest Blog

by Rachel Smith • 6 November 2024
Welcome to our latest guest blog where we’ve been chatting to James Griffiths, General Manager of Ocean Operations for Scenic Group and finding out more about what happens behind the scenes in order to keep a fleet of luxury expedition ships running. Here’s what James told us… As General Manager of Ocean Operations, I’m responsible for the operations of our fleet which includes four ships in service with around 850 colleagues. I currently live in Mumbles, near Swansea in the UK, but due to the nature of my work I spend a significant amount of time living in Croatia. Prior to this role, I spent many years working at sea and worked up through the ranks to Captain and over the last 15 years, my main focus has been on polar expedition travel. I hold a master mariner certificate of competency in addition to a degree in engineering and a post graduate diploma in law. Part of my job is to work with our medical service provider (Red Square Medical) to ensure that our ships are offering medical services that are appropriate for their deployment, and this can often be to some of the most extreme and remote locations around the world. It’s extremely varied, though during the COVID-19 pandemic, I came ashore when our operations paused for a significant period of time. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to lead the restart of our Ocean Operations, which included setting up everything from a company to manage the ships, to selecting our crewing, medical, helicopter and submarine partners and providers, amongst many other things. Our areas of operation, and the nature of our cruises (expedition), plus having aircraft and submersibles onboard some, do mean additional elements involved in the management of these ships. You could say that this current position is more of a happy coincidence than one that I actually planned for! In some ways this is a great positive - I do think it’s possible to plan a little too much and then be disappointed if things don’t go quite the way you had imagined. But there’s no danger of that here!

Paramedic on tour - Simon Lawton heads to Mexico

by Rachel Smith • 3 October 2024
Back in February 2022, we brought you one of our very first guest blogs from Simon Lawton, a Paramedic who has swapped out his ambulance for a Superyacht! You can read the original blog here: https://www.redsquaremedical.com/superyacht-paramedic-a-guest-blog-from-simon-lawton Over the last 2+ years, we’ve followed Simon’s career, and some of you may even recognise him as he does put a Red Square Medical instructor hat on from time to time. But, as for all healthcare professionals, Simon has to keep his skills up to date. So, we asked him to tell us a bit more about how he juggles this along with a rota onboard. Here’s what he told us… I’m originally from Stoke-on-Trent in the UK and trained as a HCPC registered Paramedic. I’ve spent almost 5 years working at sea now, with almost continuous employment on three different vessels, after leaving the ambulance service in 2019. My first role was as a Paramedic/Deck hand on Superyachts, and I now work as a Medical Officer on a maritime vessel. Even before I applied to become a Paramedic, I intended to complete my studies to help find employment in a remote or offshore environment. I had always been attracted to the idea of being able to travel the world while earning a salary. Working at sea has meant that I have travelled extensively, earnt a higher salary, and have a better work/rest balance than would be possible in a role on land. Note: At the time of writing, a qualified Paramedic’s starting pay in the UK was £28,407 and Simon’s old rota was 2 days, 2 nights (all 12 hours) and 4 days off with very inflexible annual leave. This year I decided to carry out some continual professional development (CPD) at a hospital in Mexico, to keep my skills up to date. I was interested in travelling to find out more about how healthcare services are provided outside the UK and Europe. The CPD activity in Mexico allowed me to do exactly that, while caring for and treating a wide variety of patients who had either self-presented in the emergency department, or been conveyed to hospital by ambulance.

Inequalities in CPR on Women

by Rachel Smith • 25 September 2024
Welcome to our September blog, and as we all start (in the UK at least!) to think about adding a few layers for warmth, we’d like to talk about getting naked! Well, to be more specific, getting bra’s off. Fact: Women are dying because bystanders are less likely to carry out CPR on women than men. Research shows that women are 27% less likely to receive CPR than men and if a defibrillator is used, their chance of survival is affected by bra’s being left on. Most of us have never had the chance to train using a female manikin. The #BraOffDefibOn campaign aims to address the inequality in CPR for women and we’re supporting it.

Dr. Will Duffin - Joint Medical Director WEM

by Rachel Smith • 4 September 2024
In August, we brought you a Guest Blog from Mark Hannaford, the founder of World Extreme Medicine. This month, it’s the turn of another of the key WEM faculty members… introducing Dr Will Duffin. Hello everyone, I’m Dr Will Duffin and I’m a GP in Devon in the UK. I’m the Joint Medical Director of World Extreme Medicine (WEM) and the Lead Medic for the US CBS TV show ‘Survivor’ - for Seasons 43, 44, 46 and 48, which is also through WEM. Extreme Medicine is healthcare that is delivered across the full spectrum of remote, austere and challenging environments. This includes high mountains, deep oceans, jungles, deserts, polar, low earth orbit and refugee camps… the list is endless. Being a part of the wider Extreme Medicine community through WEM has been a portal into new worlds of possibility and opportunity in my medical career as an NHS GP. It’s a huge privilege to treat patients in a remote setting. You get to do proper ‘hands on’ medicine that truly tests your clinical skills, risk management and decision making. Even basic techniques and principles done well can transform patient outcomes. That’s the big reward. I graduated from Bristol Medical School in 2008 and completed my GP Training in Cornwall, UK in 2016. In between, I spent 18 months in Australia to gain as much emergency department experience as I could, whilst doing Wilderness Medicine Courses. I landed my first expedition gig 12 years ago when I was post-FY2 (Foundation Years follow on after qualifying as a doctor). I covered a Kilimanjaro Trek after another doctor dropped out at the last minute. Once I had this under my belt, I was able to leverage this experience to get the next trip. So, I soon found myself providing regular medical cover for various commercial and charity sector expeditions. These expeditions have taken me all over the world: Kilimanjaro, the Peruvian Andes, the Himalayas, Northern China, Eastern Europe, Myanmar and Madagascar. One highlight was working as the private doctor for a Luxury Trans-Siberian Train! Though I became frustrated having to constantly wrangle annual leave to go away, so I made the switch to being a freelance (locum) GP, which has given me the flexibility I need. I joined WEM in 2018 after responding to a Facebook Ad for the ‘Survivor’ job. I was invited to a selection weekend in the Peak District, which is when I first met Mark Hannaford WEM founder and CEO and Dr Joe Rowles, WEM’s other Medical Director, and it all went on from there. Early on, I was given the opportunity to lead on the content for the annual World Extreme Medicine Conference and our various podcasts and webinars. Through doing this, I have met a colourful cast of characters; other extreme medics who are as audacious as they are inspirational! We have a lot of fun at the conference every year, learning from one another. https://worldextrememedicine.com/registration/wem-conference-2024 (Note from the RSM team – the conference is highly recommended and well worth a visit!)

Mark Hannaford - Founder and CEO of World Extreme Medicine

by Rachel Smith • 5 August 2024
Last year, the Red Square Medical team descended on the World Extreme Medicine (WEM) conference for the very first time. We’d been aware of this unique organisation for many years, but just not had the chance to get involved. Liz was involved in a panel discussion and spoke at the conference, and we came away literally buzzing with enthusiasm - our first impressions were that WEM is a place with no ego’s, where everyone wants to learn, and is willing to share. We met some of the most fascinating people ever and can’t wait to go back this year. But what about the person who started it all… We spoke to Mark Hannaford, founder of World Extreme Medicine and its far reaching impact. Here’s what he had to say. I’ve been involved in expeditions, working in low resource environments and extreme medicine for the past three decades! My family was made up of generations of seafarers from Cornwall although I was brought up variously in Devon, Antigua in the Caribbean and the Middle East; reflecting my father’s job as a Master Mariner. My father was at one time the youngest captain aboard the UK’s largest registered vessel, and my grandfather was Harbour Master for Malta and the first in that role in Plymouth at the start of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. I wear a number of hats but primarily I am the founder and CEO of World Extreme Medicine, and the annual WEM Conference. I also founded the MSc in Extreme Medicine at the University of Exeter and Graduate Certificate program at Bouvré College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston.

Women's Health

by Rachel Smith • 3 July 2024
Women’s health is a huge topic, while it’s true that in the maritime sector women make up just 2% of seafarers at sea, up to 34% of the shore based staff are female. Looking at the bigger picture, women’s health directly affects just under half of our population globally, and indirectly (whether you like it or not!) the other half, we thought it was worth a blog about some of the issues, and the taboo’s, that could be affecting our maritime workforce and the women in our lives. It's common knowledge that women experience huge hormonal changes at puberty and menopause, both of which can have significant physical and mental health impacts. In the UK, there is a growing discussion and openness about peri-menopause (the years before periods stop altogether) and how for some women, this has devastating effects across all aspects of their lives, including work. Of course men experience changes at puberty, but their later life changes are less significant and generally don’t affect their ability to work. In December 2023 the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a statement to advise that every year, at least 40 million women are likely to experience a long term health problem caused by childbirth. So there’s a good chance that we all know one or more women affected, or if you are female… this could be you. As part of a special series on maternal health, the study showed a high burden of postnatal conditions that persist in the months and years after giving birth. These issues include more than a third of women experiencing pain during intercourse, urinary incontinence (8-31%), anal incontinence (19%), anxiety (9-24%), depression (11-17%), perineal pain (11%), a fear of childbirth (6-15%) and secondary infertility (11%). All in all it doesn’t paint a great picture of life after childbirth for some women. If any of your workers experience these issues, either on or off shore, it could have a significant impact on areas of their working life and it’s something they may be reluctant to open up about. Even before childbirth, we may take it for granted that contraception is available, certainly in the developed world. But in developing countries where sexual violence is not uncommon, contraception is considered lifesaving due to the high level of unsafe abortions carried out. Around 13 million women (and girls) under 20 give birth annually and complications in the pregnancy and birth is a leading cause of death. Consequently abortion is an option, but this carries its own huge risks.

Guest Blog - Wendy Sullivan

by Rachel Smith • 25 June 2024
We just love speaking to and finding out more about the people who inspire us and we guarantee that this month’s blog will not disappoint! We first got in touch with Wendy Sullivan via LinkedIn and thought she seemed like a pretty awesome human. Wendy and her company, Maritime Medical Solutions in Australia, certainly share the same outlook as Red Square Medical. Fast forward a couple of years and we’re now collaborating on a project in Australia and the Pacific Islands. What we’ve learnt along the way is simply fascinating and Wendy has kindly agreed to share her story with us… Here is Wendy’s Guest Blog: I was born in Canada, grew up in Africa and now call Australia my home. I feel lucky to live in paradise where the weather allows us to be on the water year-round. I had to work hard to gain my Australian citizenship and I credit my work in the marine industry with giving me a pathway to stay in Australia permanently. It took years of hard work and uncertainty to gain my residency and is still one of the achievements I am most proud of. I started sailing in Canada and since emigrating to Australia gained my professional and commercial qualifications as a vessel master, marine engine driver, trainer and assessor. I also have a Diploma of Paramedical Science, ship masters medical qualifications, business administration and development and there is still so much more to come.
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