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, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

, whereby no

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

or provisions are included as part of the agreement; instead, the people who

rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

the vessel from the owner are responsible for taking care of such things. This act is commonly known as

bareboating Bareboating is the act of chartering a sailboat that one lives upon, navigates, and operates for a vacation from an owner or a charter company. Common bareboating locations are the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Whitsundays. To charter a sa ...

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. In these charters, the charterer can direct where the ship will go but the owner of the ship retains possession of the ship through 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 shipping

In a 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, b ...

, 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 lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred ...

) and US accounting standards.

In yachting

yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboats, t ...

a bareboat charter is usually for a short period. There are hundreds of bareboat

yacht charter brokers Yacht chartering is the practice of renting, or chartering, a sailboat or motor yacht and travelling to various coastal or island destinations. This is usually a vacation activity, but it also can be a business event. There are two main kinds ...

or agent companies. These companies offer yacht finding and travel organisation services similar to travel agent only more specialized. Their purpose is to use their experience and networks to locate a client's ideal bareboat in terms of price and location. Much like online travel agencies that sell unsold inventory of airline tickets and hotel rooms at a fraction of the price, there are now also last minute bareboat charter brokers where travellers can find excellent rates. While bareboat technically refers to any boat that can be chartered without a skipper or crew, typically bareboating refers to sailing yachts, including monohulls and

catamarans A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...

. Bareboat hire has become increasingly common since the mid-1990s and in particular since the early 2000s. There has been increasing demand for yacht vacations and many experienced and semi-experienced ‘yachties’ now consider it easier and cheaper to hire a bareboat, rather than own their own yacht. While both the international leisure travel industry (particularly outdoor activities based vacations) and the boating industry have boomed in the last decade, so too has the bareboat charter industry which incorporates both of these pursuits. Bareboat chartering is extremely common in Caribbean islands such as the British Virgin Islands. In the USA there is an additional legal distinction with regard to bareboat versus for hire, or "skippered" charters. When persons pool their finances to bareboat so that the qualified master among them may skipper for the group, even though the master is not ostensibly a paid skipper, he/she now takes on the legal responsibilities of one. This can have far-reaching consequences in the event of negative occurrences at sea.

References

External links

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

In shipping

In yachting

See also

References

Further reading

External links