In a bareboat charter, an owner leases their commercial vessel to someone else. The charterer (the person leasing the vessel) is responsible for providing a crew and provisions.
A bareboat charter agreement gives the charterer complete possession and control of the vessel.
Bareboat chartered vessel into Canada
When a foreign vessel is leased to work in Canada, it's called a "bareboat chartered vessel into Canada."
If you charter a foreign vessel to work in Canada, you must obtain a certificate of bareboat registry. You also need to make sure its registry is suspended in its original foreign country.
You can register a vessel in Canada as a bareboat chartered vessel if:
- you're a qualified person
- the vessel is registered in a foreign state
- the vessel's foreign registration has been suspended
If you lease a foreign vessel to do work in Canada, you must register it in the Canadian Register of Vessels.
Once the vessel is no longer leased to work in Canada, the bareboat charterer must obtain a deletion certificate to close the registration of the bareboat vessel in Canada. The vessel owners must also reinstate its foreign registration.
Bareboat chartered vessel out of Canada
When a Canadian vessel is leased to work outside of Canada, it's called a "bareboat chartered vessel out of Canada." If you lease your vessel to someone outside Canada, you must suspend its registry in the Canadian Register of Vessels. When the vessel returns to Canada, you must then reinstate the vessels registry.