Registering a chartered ship under a second flag for the charter period — into Malta or out of it — while ownership and registered mortgages stay put.
A bareboat charter puts a vessel into the hands of a charterer without crew — and, where the parties want it, under a different flag for the charter period. Malta allows bareboat charter registration in both directions: a foreign ship under the Malta flag, and a Maltese ship under a compatible foreign flag. zeta. advises owners, charterers and their financiers on both routes, from eligibility and consents through to the obligations that continue once registration is in place. For ordinary registration on the Maltese register, see Malta flag registration; for the wider picture, see our Maritime & Yachting practice.
One ship, two registers: the charter flag governs operation, while the register underneath keeps the record of ownership and security.
Discuss Your CharterOn a bareboat charter the charterer takes the vessel bare — no master, no crew — for a fixed period, and must supply its own master and crew to sail her for that period. Possession and operational control pass to the charterer, while the owner's title is left untouched.
What makes the arrangement distinctive is that the charterer also acquires the right to register the ship temporarily under an alternative flag. That second register is the bareboat charter registry. The ship's original flag is not surrendered: it is retained as the underlying registry, and it is precisely that retention which keeps the owner's rights protected while somebody else operates the vessel.
Maltese law provides for the arrangement in both directions. A foreign ship can be taken onto the Maltese flag by way of bareboat charter — a bareboat charter-in registration — and a Maltese ship can go the other way onto a foreign flag, which is a bareboat charter-out registration. The conditions, the consenting parties and the obligations that follow are different in each case, so the first question on any file is which of the two you are on.
Charterers taking full operational control frequently need the vessel on a flag that fits their own trading, crewing and management arrangements, or that a particular trade or charterparty requires. Owners, for their part, are reluctant to disturb a financed vessel. Bareboat charter registration answers both: the ship operates under the flag the charter needs for as long as the charter runs, while ownership and registered security stay on the register they were always on — which is a large part of why mortgagees are generally willing to give the consent the process requires.
The two routes mirror one another, but the applicant, the consenting parties and the law that governs title are different. Which one applies turns on where the ship is registered today.
A foreign ship under the Maltese flag for the charter period
The charterer, or an authorised representative, applying to the Registrar.
Charterer eligible to own a Maltese ship; ship not already Maltese; ship on a compatible registry and not on another bareboat charter registry.
Written consent of the underlying registry's authorities, the owners and all registered mortgagees.
A Provisional Certificate or a Certificate of Bareboat Charter Registry — or a Non-Operational Certificate where convention certificates are missing.
Maltese jurisdiction and control over the ship, but title, transfers and mortgages stay with the law of the underlying registry.
A Maltese ship under a compatible foreign flag
The owner, or an authorised agent, applying to the Registrar-General.
The Registrar-General consents in writing, and the bareboat charter registry is a compatible registry.
Written consent of all registered mortgagees, plus written undertakings from the owners and from the charterer.
The Registrar-General's written consent, which must be in hand before the foreign registration proceeds.
Title, transfers, mortgages and encumbrances continue to be regulated by Maltese law, and Maltese annual fees remain payable.
The charterer applies; the underlying registry, the owners and the mortgagees consent; the Registrar issues the certificate.
Discuss a Charter-InA foreign ship must first clear the same ownership and vessel-age pre-requisites that apply to a standard Maltese ship registration — set out on our Malta flag registration page. Four further conditions then apply specifically to bareboat charter registration:
The application package submitted to the Registrar consists of the following:
Separately from the application, written consent to the ship being bareboat charter registered in Malta must be produced from the authorities of the underlying registry, from the owners of the ship, and from all registered mortgagees. In practice these three are what set the timetable, so they are the first thing we open.
Once every condition is met, the Registrar issues either a Provisional Certificate of Bareboat Charter Registry or a full Certificate of Bareboat Charter Registry, depending on the case. Where the ship is not in possession of all the valid certificates required by the international conventions ratified by the Government of Malta, together with the other certificates prescribed by the Regulations, the Registrar issues a Non-Operational Certificate of Bareboat Charter Registry instead.
On receipt of the Certificate of Bareboat Charter Registry, every document issued by the underlying registry must be surrendered back to that registry. The charterer must then deliver a declaration to the Maltese Registrar confirming that the surrender has been made.
From registration, the ship becomes subject to the jurisdiction and control of Malta and must comply with all the laws applicable to Maltese ships. Title is the exception: matters of ownership, transfers and mortgages over the ship remain regulated by the law of the underlying registry throughout.
Here the owner applies to the Registrar-General, and consent has to be in hand before the foreign registration proceeds.
Discuss a Charter-OutThe Merchant Shipping Act allows a Maltese ship to be bareboat charter registered in a foreign registry on two conditions:
That consent is not granted until the following have been submitted:
Registration abroad then triggers a short sequence of filings back in Malta:
On registration in the foreign registry, the owner informs the Registrar that the registration has taken place.
The owners must file a declaration with the Registrar confirming that the ship's stern now carries the name of its foreign home port in lieu of the name Valletta.
The Maltese Certificate of Registry is surrendered, and an extract of the foreign bareboat charter registration is filed with the Registrar.
A charter-out registration does not loosen Malta's hold on the ownership position. Notwithstanding the arrangement, the Maltese ship remains subject to the payment of all annual fees in Malta, and all matters relating to title, transfers, mortgages and encumbrances continue to be regulated by Maltese law.
Both routes are capped at two years, and both are tied to the charter and to the registration sitting underneath them — whichever falls away first.
| Bareboat Charter-In | Bareboat Charter-Out | |
|---|---|---|
| What is time-limited | The bareboat charter registration in Malta | The Registrar-General's written consent |
| Expires on the shorter of | (i) termination of the bareboat charter; (ii) expiration of the underlying registration; (iii) two years from the date of the bareboat charter registration | (i) the duration of the bareboat charter agreement; (ii) expiration of the ship's Maltese registration; (iii) a period of two years |
| Renewal | Renewable for further periods | The Registrar-General may renew his consent for a further period |
| Who requests it | The charterer | The owner or an authorised agent |
| What must be produced | A transcript of the underlying registry, together with the consent of the underlying registry, the owners and the mortgagees | A request to the Registrar-General |
| Outcome | The Registrar issues a Renewal Certificate | The consent is renewed for the further period |
For the same ground covered as a technical note, see Malta Bareboat Charters by David Zammit, Managing Director of Zeta Corporate & Management Services.
Zeta Corporate & Management Services Limited, a zeta. group company, is an Authorised Company Service Provider authorised by the MFSA.
Bareboat charter work is largely a coordination exercise. Two registries, an owner, a charterer and usually a financing bank all have to sign off inside the window the charter allows, and the documents must say the same thing to every one of them. We run that process from Malta — drafting and chasing the consents, preparing the declarations, applications and undertakings — and stay on the file for the obligations that follow.
From the first eligibility check to the obligations that continue after the certificate is issued.
We assist charterers with registering a foreign ship under the Malta flag by way of bareboat charter, guiding the charterer through eligibility, obtaining the written consents required from the underlying registry, the owners and any registered mortgagees, and preparing and submitting the declaration, charter agreement and supporting documentation the Registrar requires.
We assist owners of Maltese ships seeking bareboat charter registration under a compatible foreign flag, obtaining the Registrar-General's consent and attending to the applications, undertakings and mortgagee consents required, together with the owner's obligations following registration.
We handle the renewal of the bareboat charter registration for further periods, producing the transcript and consents of the underlying registry, owners and mortgagees required for the Registrar to issue a renewal certificate.
We support owners and charterers with the obligations that continue after registration, including the surrender of documents to the relevant registry, the required declarations, and, for charter-out arrangements, the ongoing Maltese annual fees and compliance that remain in place.
Tell us where the ship is registered, who the charterer is and whether there is a mortgage on the vessel — we'll set out the route, the consents and the timetable.
Contact us about charter-in registration under the Malta flag, charter-out to a compatible foreign registry, renewals and ongoing obligations.
