Privacy Policy
Effective date: 30 September 2023 · Last updated: 25 May 2026
1. About this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy describes how Elite Offshore Academy ("EOA," "we," "our," or "us") collects, uses, shares, and protects information about you when you use our website (eliteoffshoreacademy.com), enrol in our training programmes, or otherwise interact with us. By accessing our website or enrolling in a course, you confirm that you have read and understood this Policy.
2. Who We Are
Elite Offshore Academy is a marine, offshore, and industrial training provider operating from Mumbai, India. We deliver courses online and in person to candidates worldwide. We are MLC 1.3 and 3.2 compliant, ISO 9001 (ABS) compliant, and ISO 21001 (TUV NORD) certified.
• Email: info@eliteoffshore.com
• Phone / WhatsApp: +91 96992 72855
• Address: Unit 123, Little World Mall, Sector 2, Kharghar, 410210
• Grievance Officer: Sheldon Creado | +91 90826 27173
3. Information We Collect
We collect the following categories of information:
3.1 Identity and contact information — full name, date of birth, gender, nationality, email address, phone number, postal or residential address, and a photograph for identification on certificates.
3.2 Professional and eligibility information — rank and offshore experience, service records (sea time, vessel type, role on board), academic qualifications, existing maritime certificates (BOSIET, FOET, OGUK medical, STCW endorsements), and employer references where required for course eligibility.
3.3 Course and certification information — courses enrolled, attendance and participation records, assessment results, certificate numbers, dates of issue, validity periods, and logbook entries (for example, IMCA Crane Operator's Logbook).
3.4 Payment information — payments are processed by third-party payment providers (such as RazorPay). EOA does not store full credit-card numbers, CVV codes, or banking credentials on its own systems. We retain transaction confirmations and invoice records.
3.5 Technical and usage information — IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, time spent on each page, referring URL, and cookies and similar tracking technologies (see Section 12).
3.6 Communications — emails, messages, and call records when you contact us; course feedback and survey responses.
4. How We Use Your Information
We use your information for the following purposes:
• Delivering training services — processing your enrolment, verifying eligibility, providing course materials, conducting assessments, and issuing certificates.
• Registering certificates with regulatory bodies — for example, registering Liberia (LISCR) flag-state approved certificates with LISCR; sharing relevant records with ABS, TUV NORD, and IMCA for accreditation, audit, and logbook purposes.
• Verifying certificates publicly — when an employer, recruiter, surveyor, or regulator enters your certificate number on our verification page, we display the limited information necessary to confirm authenticity. See Section 6.
• Processing payments and managing invoices through our payment provider.
• Communicating with you about your cohort, schedule, study materials, refresher options, and changes to our services.
• Improving our services through aggregated and anonymised analytics.
• Marketing communications — only with your consent or where otherwise permitted by law. You may opt out at any time.
• Complying with legal and regulatory obligations including taxation, accreditation audits, and record-keeping mandates.
5. Legal Basis for Processing (EU / EEA candidates)
Where you are located in the European Union or European Economic Area, we rely on the following legal bases:
• Contractual necessity — processing required to deliver the training services you have enrolled in.
• Legal obligation — processing required to comply with tax law, accreditation audits, and maritime regulatory record-keeping.
• Legitimate interests — ensuring certificate verifiability is necessary for the training to retain its commercial value to you and to the operators who rely on the credential.
• Consent — for marketing communications and certain non-essential cookies, where consent is required.
6. The Certificate Verification System
Our online certificate verification system at eliteoffshoreacademy.com/verifycertificate allows employers, recruiters, classification societies, flag-state inspectors, and other authorised verifiers to confirm the authenticity of an EOA certificate. When a verifier enters a valid certificate number, the system displays:
• The holder's name
• The holder's date of birth
• The certificate number
• The course or programme
• The date of issue and validity status
By enrolling in an EOA course, you consent to this verification disclosure. This disclosure is necessary because offshore employers require unambiguous identification before relying on a certificate for hiring decisions, and because many flag-state regulators require this level of detail to be publicly verifiable.
If you wish to limit how much information is disclosed by the verification system (for example, masking your date of birth on the public view), please contact us before your certificate is issued and we will discuss the options available.
7. How We Share Your Information
We share your information with the following categories of recipients, only as necessary for the purposes described in this Policy:
• Flag-state authorities — including the Liberia International Ship and Corporate Registry (LISCR) and equivalent registries where your certificate is registered.
• Classification societies and accreditation bodies — including the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), TUV NORD, and others where we are accredited.
• Industry bodies — including the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) for Crane Operator Logbook entries.
• Payment processors — RazorPay and other payment service providers.
• Cloud and IT service providers — including Wix (website hosting and CMS), Google Workspace, and similar.
• Government, regulatory, and law-enforcement bodies — where legally compelled, or where we are required to cooperate with regulatory audits.
• Employers and recruiters — through the public certificate verification system, but only when they enter a valid certificate number.
We do not sell your personal data to any third party.
8. International Data Transfers
Because we deliver training to candidates worldwide and work with international regulators and partners, your data may be transferred to, stored in, or processed in countries other than the country where you reside. Where required by law, we put appropriate safeguards in place — including standard contractual clauses and equivalent adequacy mechanisms.
9. Data Security
We implement reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information, including:
• HTTPS encryption in transit on our website and verification portal
• Access controls and role-based access on student-record systems
• Staff training on data protection
• Regular backups and incident-response procedures
• Compliance with our ISO 21001:2018 institutional management certification
No system is perfectly secure. If a data breach materially affects you, we will notify you in accordance with applicable law.
10. How Long We Keep Your
Information
We retain your information for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Policy:
• Certificate records and the underlying enrolment data — retained indefinitely so that your certificate remains permanently verifiable, as required by employers, regulators, and the validity model of the certificates we issue.
• Personal documents submitted for prerequisite verification (service records, academic certificates, medicals, etc.) — retained for the duration of your engagement plus a period required for audit and compliance purposes.
• Payment and financial records — retained for the period required by applicable tax law (typically six to seven years).
• Marketing data — retained until you withdraw consent, or for a reasonable period after your last interaction with us.
11. Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:
• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
• Request deletion of your data — subject to certain limits, as certificate records must persist for verification purposes (see Section 6 and Section 10)
• Restrict or object to certain processing
• Receive your data in a portable format
• Withdraw consent for processing where consent is the legal basis
• Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the addresses in Section 2. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law (typically within thirty days).
12. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to:
• Operate essential website functions, including session management and secure payment
• Analyse aggregate website usage to improve our services
• Show you relevant content and, in limited cases, marketing communications
You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.
13. Children's Privacy
Our courses are intended for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under 18. If you believe we have collected information from a minor, please contact us immediately and we will take appropriate steps to delete it.
14. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or operations. The "Last updated" date at the top of this Policy reflects the most recent revision. Where the changes are material, we will provide notice via email or on our website.
15. Complaints and Grievance Redressal
If you have any concerns or complaints about our handling of your personal data, please first contact us at info@eliteoffshore.com. We will acknowledge your communication and respond within thirty days.
If you remain unsatisfied, you may also have the right to lodge a complaint with:
• The Data Protection Board of India (under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023), if you are located in India
• Your local data protection authority in the European Union or European Economic Area
• Other applicable supervisory authorities in your jurisdiction
16. Contact Us
For any questions, requests, or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices:
• Email: info@eliteoffshore.com
• Phone / WhatsApp: +91 96992 72855
• Address: Unit 123, Little World Mall, Sector 2, Kharghar, 410210
Grievance Officer: Sheldon Creado | +91 90826 27173