A bareboat charter, or demise charter, is an arrangement for the chartering or hiring of a ship or

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

for which no

crew A crew is a body or a group of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchy, hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the ta ...

or provisions are included as part of the agreement. Instead, the

renter Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the use of a good, service or property owned by another over a fixed period of time. To maintain such an agreement, a rental agreement (or lease) is sign ...

of the vessel from the owner is responsible for taking care of whatever the agreement specifies - insurance, maintenance, repairs, etc.. The act is commonly known as

bareboating {{more refs, date=April 2025 Bareboating is the act of chartering a sailboat that one occupies, navigates, and operates for a vacation from an owner or a charter company. Common bareboating locations are the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the W ...

or bareboat charter. There are legal differences between a bareboat charter and other types of charter arrangements, commonly called ''time'' or ''voyage'' charters. In a voyage or time charter, the charterer charters the ship or part of it for a particular voyage or for a set period of time. The charterer then can direct where the ship will go but the owner of the ship retains possession of the ship by its employment of the master and crew. In a bare-boat or demise charter, on the other hand, the owner gives possession of the ship to the charterer, and the charterer hires its own master and crew. The bare-boat charterer is sometimes called a "disponent owner". The giving up of possession of the ship by the owner is the defining characteristic of a bareboat or demise charter.

In commercial shipping

In a commercial shipping bareboat charter, no administration or technical maintenance is included as part of the agreement. The charterer obtains possession and full control of the vessel, along with the legal and financial responsibility for it. The charterer pays for all operating expenses, including fuel, crew, port expenses and P&I and hull insurance. A bareboat charter is in effect a financing arrangement. It is generally considered a lease contract, specifically a

finance lease A finance lease (also known as a capital lease or a sales lease) is a type of lease in which a finance company is typically the legal owner of the asset for the duration of the lease, while the lessee not only has operating control over the asset ...

, for accounting purposes, under both international financial reporting standards (

IFRS 16 IFRS 16 is an International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) promulgated by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) providing guidance on accounting for leases. IFRS 16 was issued in January 2016 and is effective for most companie ...

) and US accounting standards.

In yachting

Although any kind of boat may be bareboat chartered, the term is most commonly heard in regards to recreational

yachting Yachting is recreational boating activities using medium/large-sized boats or small ships collectively called yachts. Yachting is distinguished from other forms of boating mainly by the priority focus on comfort and luxury, the dependence on ma ...

. Yacht charter brokers and agent companies, which offer yacht finding and travel organisation services similar to travel agents, maintain inventories of recreational vessels available for bareboat charter. Bareboat hire has become increasingly common since the mid-1990s, particularly since the early 2000s, as many experienced and semi-experienced recreational sailors consider it easier and cheaper to hire a bareboat at their intended vacation destination than own and maintain their own yacht. Destination bareboat rentals also eliminate the complications and expense of engaging yacht delivery services to bring one's own boat to the sailing grounds, and back - though some adventurous bareboaters prefer to rent a yacht for an entire vacation, including round-trip travel. Further, a bareboat charter allows the rental of a much larger, more comfortable yacht than many avid sailors can afford, well-suited to multi-couple or multi-family vacations. Both the international leisure travel industry (particularly outdoor activities based vacations) and the boating industry boomed in the

2000s File:2000s decade montage3.png, From top left, clockwise: The Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center (1973–2001), World Trade Center on fire and the Statue of Liberty on the left during the September 11 attacks, terrorist attacks on Sep ...

, further spurring the bareboat charter industry, which suits action vacations. Bareboat chartering is extremely common in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, such as the

British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and north-west ...

, but also in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

with around 4000 charter boats, which makes probably the largest charter fleet in the world, followed by

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

with around 2500. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, when a vessel is "bareboated" for yachting the renter must supply its own

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, who is responsible for the boat and its passengers. One may be hired commercially or selected from among properly qualified member(s) of the party, often referred to informally as a skipper. Appropriate licenses come in two categories: OUPV ("Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels”), good for undocumented vessels of 100 tons or less and parties of 6 or fewer; and

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

, qualified for craft larger than 100 tons and parties greater than 6.Captain's License Requirements
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Regardless of the license, any party member accepting the role of captain assumes the legal responsibilities, authorities, and liabilities that inhere with the position. It is critical everyone involved understands this before agreeing to such an arrangement.

References

External links

"Ruling could end sweet 'bare-boat' deals", SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, November 10, 2004
Yachting Ship chartering Leasing

In commercial shipping

In yachting

See also

References

Further reading

External links