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MEET THE OWNER

     I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. After apprenticeships and tradesman experience in the oil & gas and heavy construction industries, I moved to Miami in 1986 to begin work in the yachting industry as a mate on board a 106-foot Broward motor yacht.

     Within 2 years, after serving on larger yachts, I acquired a 100-ton USCG Master credential. In the ensuing years, I voyaged throughout The Great Lakes and Eastern Seaboard of the United States and Canada, throughout the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas, while acquiring a 500-ton, then a 1600-ton Master credential. In the last stages of my tenure as an active captain, I voyaged through the Panama Canal and the West coasts of Mexico, the United States, British Columbia, the South China Sea, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.

     I subsequently acquired certifications as an ISM (International Safety Management Code) Auditor and Shipboard Safety Officer, and an ISPS (International Security of Ports and Ships) Shipboard and Shoreside Security Officer.

While stepping away as an active captain, I authored and sold, on an editable computer disk, a 200-page hypothetical standard operating procedure (SOP) titled, ‘The Employment and Operations Handbook for Yacht Personnel’.

     After successfully operating a shoreside heavy construction safety and risk management company, I returned to the yachting industry, where I now have 38 years of experience. John Francis International is a yacht owner representative, licensed and bonded yacht brokerage. We offer yacht refit and new construction project management and forensic invoice investigation. At John Francis International, we uphold our conviction to good faith and fair dealing while embracing our fiduciary duty to our clients.

Expertise & Experience:

 

  • Project manager of multi-million-dollar yacht refits and restorations, and new yacht build team member.

  • Owner Representation for new semi-custom and custom yacht construction, and subsequent operations.

  • Florida Employing Yacht Broker License-EBK7453 / Member IYBA.Authored “The Employment and Operations Handbook for Yacht Personnel”.

  • Authored & Presented Paper “The ISM Code and the Yacht’s Captain: Establishing the Basis for a Safety Management System On Board”; Project 98, Amsterdam, Holland.

  • Formulator and implementer of personnel employment policies and safety procedures to meet industry regulations.

  • Experienced personnel manager, leader, and trainer.

  • Co-authored policies and procedures handbook for brokers of a nationwide new and brokerage boat sales firm.

  • Liability litigation support witness retained to defend yacht owners and hull insurers.

  • Ability to transcend personality and cultural differences.

  • Creates domestic and international travel and activities itineraries that will exceed clientele expectations.

  • Creative style and imagination for event planning and thorough handling of details.

  • Lloyd’s Register ISM Code: ISM Code Auditing.

  • Ship Safety Officer.

  • Highly adept in risk assessment and management, and activity hazard analysis.

  • Drum Cusack ISPS: Ship Security Officer, Company Security Officer.

  • Planned periodic maintenance scheduler for an entire vessel; with emphasis on capital equipment & machinery.

  • Accomplished pilot of water jet and propeller-propelled vessels.

  • USCG MMC Master 1600 GRT (Domestic Tonnage) 3000 GRT (ITC Tonnage).

  • Bridge Resource Management Certification / Professional Yacht Master Business & Law Certification.

  • Radar Observer Unlimited-ARPA Certification / Basic and Advanced Marine Fire Fighting Certification.

  • Damage Control / Fire Fighting Simulator Training Certification, Royal Brunei/British Navies.

  • Merchant Marine Able Bodied Seaman Certification / Marine surveying and shipboard safety audits.

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