The lawyers at LexPractis can also offer their assistance and advise with the registration of bareboat charters.

A bareboat charter or demise charter is an arrangement for the chartering or hiring of a vessel usually by the owner to a third party. As the name suggests in a bareboat charter no crew or provisions are included as part of the agreement; instead, the third party who rents the vessel from the owner is responsible for the crew and provisions thereof.

Maltese legislation provides for two scenarios of bareboat charter registration:

1. The bareboat charter registration of foreign vessels under the Maltese Flag; and
2. The bareboat charter registration of Maltese vessels under a foreign flag,

The advantage of having a bareboat charter registration in Malta is that the vessel will enjoy the same rights and privileges and have the same obligations as any other vessel registered under the Malta Flag.

The main requirement at law for the registration of a bareboat charter in Malta, is the compatibility of the two registries. Any matters regarding title of the vessel, mortgages and encumbrances remain to be governed by the main registry, while the operation of the vessel falls under the jurisdiction of the bareboat charter registration.

For a bareboat charter to be successfully registered in Malta it is imperative that:

• The vessel is bareboat chartered to a person, whether legal or physical who is qualified to own a Maltese vessel;
• The vessel is not a Maltese vessel, but it is registered in a compatible registry; and
• The vessel is not registered in any other bareboat registry.