Applicant & Crew Records Retention Policy

1. Unsubmitted drafts on your device

The public registration form currently saves an unfinished draft in the browser as you edit. It checks the age of the draft when you return and discards it if more than two days old. An abandoned draft can remain on the device until the next check or until you clear the site's browser data.

Use “Start a new registration” or clear site data for the registration domain to remove a local draft. Successful submission also clears the local draft. A submitted application is held separately by LT Marine. To request deletion of that record, contact the DPO. The Cookie Policy explains the browser storage used by each site.

2. Active and closed applications

The registration portal keeps an application while the office considers it. For an applicant who is not hired, its published rule is 12 months from closure, including a withdrawal or a file kept for a later opening. If the office reopens the file during that period, the period starts again on the next closure.

The registration privacy notice says the application, submitted documents and office notes are due for deletion at the end of that period. You can ask to end future-vacancy consideration earlier. Diane can check the status and closure date of your own record and confirm the outcome of a deletion request.

3. Current and former crew records

During employment, the purpose and type of record govern retention. Employment agreements and sea-service records may be needed to document an assignment. Pay and contribution records, medical fitness documents and information about an injury or claim each require a separate assessment of the applicable duty and period.

The crew portal notice currently says former seafarers' records are being retained while the company determines the required periods. The disposal schedule for these records is still under review. Management must establish the purpose, applicable rule, starting event and review or disposal date for each category, and act on records whose justification has expired. You can ask for a review of your individual records now.

4. Claims, backups and secure disposal

If a complaint, claim or legal duty requires particular records to be preserved, management must identify the relevant records, restrict access, record the reason and review the hold. When it ends, reassess the records against their normal retention criteria.

Once retention is no longer justified, responsible teams must securely erase or irreversibly anonymise electronic records and securely destroy paper copies. Where other organisations hold copies, the DPO must consider applicable notification duties and each recipient's role.

Deletion from a live system and replacement of its restricted backup copies can occur at different times. The backup rotation period has yet to be confirmed. Restoration procedures must account for deletions already actioned. For access, correction or deletion, use our Privacy Rights Request Guide.