Community Guidelines

Be Professional

HeyMariner is built for and by maritime professionals — seafarers, port operators, naval architects, marine surveyors, ship managers, and everyone who works on or around the sea. We expect all members to conduct themselves with the same standard of professionalism they would bring to the bridge or the engine room.

This means communicating respectfully even in disagreement, accurately representing your qualifications and experience, and recognising that decisions made at sea carry real safety consequences. Misinformation shared on this platform — even unintentionally — can propagate into operational decisions. Always cite your sources, flag uncertainty clearly, and correct errors promptly when you spot them.

Treat every interaction as if the person on the other end may be a junior officer relying on the answer to make a watch-keeping call. The maritime community depends on a culture of trust, and your contributions help build or erode that culture.

Sharing Knowledge

HeyMariner thrives on the deep, practical expertise of its members. We encourage you to share:

• Lessons learned from incidents, near-misses, and challenging passages (within the bounds of confidentiality obligations)
• Regulatory updates, port notices, and NAVAREA warnings that may not have reached all mariners
• Technical guidance on vessel systems, machinery, and equipment
• Career advice, certification pathways, and flag state requirements
• Route planning insights, anchorage recommendations, and local pilotage knowledge
• Weather routing experience and meteorological observations

When sharing knowledge, please respect the intellectual property of others. Do not reproduce full text from IMO publications, Class Society rules, or proprietary navigation databases without authorisation. Summarise and link instead.

Knowledge shared on HeyMariner is for informational and educational purposes. It does not substitute for the Master's discretion, official sailing directions, or the advice of a licensed pilot with local knowledge.

Prohibited Content

The following content is strictly prohibited on HeyMariner and will result in immediate removal and possible account termination:

• False distress signals: Posting, simulating, or encouraging the transmission of false MAYDAY, PAN-PAN, or SECURITE calls, or fabricating distress situations. This is a criminal offence under the laws of most flag states and can divert SAR resources from genuine emergencies.
• Fake AIS position reports: Sharing, promoting, or providing instructions for spoofing, manipulating, or falsifying AIS transponder data, MMSI assignments, or vessel identity information. Accurate AIS data underpins collision avoidance and maritime domain awareness globally.
• Vessel security plans: Uploading, linking to, or describing the contents of Ship Security Plans (SSPs) or Port Facility Security Plans (PFSPs) required under ISPS Code. These documents are designated restricted and their disclosure can compromise vessel and port security.
• Unauthorised crew personal data: Sharing seafarers' personal information — including passport details, CDC numbers, STCW certificate numbers, home addresses, or medical records — without their explicit consent. Such data is protected under GDPR, MLC 2006, and applicable national law.
• Sanctions evasion guidance: Providing advice on circumventing flag state, port state, or international trade sanctions, including ship-to-ship transfer techniques used to obscure cargo origin.
• Piracy and armed robbery facilitation: Any content that aids, glorifies, or provides operational intelligence to those engaged in piracy, armed robbery at sea, or maritime terrorism.
• Discriminatory or harassing content: Content that demeans individuals based on nationality, race, gender, religion, or any other protected characteristic has no place in a professional maritime community.
• Spam and commercial solicitation: Unsolicited commercial messages, bulk postings, or content whose primary purpose is to advertise products or services outside designated areas.

This list is not exhaustive. HeyMariner reserves the right to remove any content that, in our reasonable judgement, poses a safety, security, or legal risk to the maritime community.

Reporting Violations

If you encounter content or behaviour that violates these guidelines, please report it promptly. Every post, comment, and profile on HeyMariner includes a report option accessible via the context menu.

When filing a report, please:

• Select the most accurate category from the report menu
• Provide a brief description of why the content is problematic
• Include any supporting context that would help our moderation team assess the report

For urgent safety matters — including content that may indicate an active distress situation or imminent threat — please contact us directly at safety@heymariner.com. For genuine maritime emergencies, always contact the relevant MRCC directly via VHF Channel 16 or DSC.

Reports are confidential. The person you report will not be notified of who filed the report.

Moderation Process

HeyMariner employs a combination of automated detection and human review to moderate content. Our moderation team includes maritime professionals who understand the technical and operational context of content posted on the platform.

Upon receiving a report, we aim to:

• Acknowledge receipt within 24 hours
• Make an initial determination within 72 hours for standard reports
• Act immediately on reports involving active safety threats or prohibited content categories listed above

Moderation actions range from content warnings and edit requests to temporary removal pending review. We aim to take the least restrictive action appropriate to the violation, but we will act decisively when safety or security is at risk.

Our moderators operate under internal guidelines that require consistent, impartial application of these community standards. We do not moderate based on the viewpoints expressed, only on whether content complies with these guidelines.

Account Suspension Policy

Accounts may be temporarily suspended or permanently terminated for repeated or serious violations of these guidelines. The severity of action reflects the nature and impact of the violation:

• Warning: Issued for minor first-time violations where the intent appears inadvertent. The content is removed and the user is notified.
• Temporary suspension (7–30 days): Applied for repeated minor violations, a single moderate violation, or failure to comply with a previous warning.
• Permanent suspension: Reserved for severe violations (including any prohibited content listed above), sustained patterns of misconduct, or accounts that exist primarily to violate these guidelines.

Suspended accounts retain read access to public content but cannot post, comment, or message other users. Permanently terminated accounts lose all access. We reserve the right to withhold specific reasons for termination where disclosure would compromise security investigations or legal proceedings.

Appeals Process

If you believe a moderation action taken against your account or content was incorrect, you may appeal within 30 days of the action by emailing appeals@heymariner.com with the subject line "Moderation Appeal — [your username]".

Your appeal should include:

• The specific action you are appealing and the date it occurred
• A clear explanation of why you believe the action was incorrect
• Any relevant context or evidence supporting your position

Appeals are reviewed by a senior moderator who was not involved in the original decision. We aim to respond to appeals within 14 business days. During an active appeal, temporary suspensions remain in effect; we will not permanently terminate an account while a valid appeal is pending unless there is an ongoing and serious safety risk.

Our appeals decisions are final. However, if you believe our moderation process has violated applicable law, you retain all legal rights to seek remedy through appropriate channels.