CHARTER TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By confirming of the booking the Client confirms to agree with these charter Terms and Conditions.
PRICE, CHARTER BOOKINGS AND TERMS OF PAYMENT
The Client acknowledges that ALITIS YACHTING acts as an Agency-Mediator between the Client and the Charter Company. Thus, ALITIS YACHTING (hereinafter Agency-Mediator) will provide to the Client information on the type of the vessel’s accommodation, its integral parts and possible additional costs (additional services and crew etc.) as well as assist the Client in obtaining most appropriate vessel offers to meet Clients specific needs, and assist the Client throughout the entire booking process.
The price for yacht charter shall include a fully equipped vessel according to the presently inventory list of the Charter Company who owns/operates the vessel in its fleet. Yacht charter price shall not include costs and expenditures for marina services and mooring in the harbours, harbour dues and other taxes, nor fuel.
After the yacht charter reservation has been confirmed, which will be effective in writing only, the payment is to be done according to amounts, dynamics and instructions stated in the Booking Confirmation document.
The primary method of payment for the yacht charter is bank transfer. Client accepts to pay full costs of the bank transfer charges, and when making the payment should emphasize to his/her bank that all bank fees (of both outgoing and incoming bank) should be paid by Client. If Client fails to do so and Agency-Mediator is charged bank transfer fees, it will be considered that the payment is not fully settled and Client will need to settle the remaining amount.
The vessel can be taken over only after the amount for yacht charter has been fully settled.
Unless the advance payment has been done until a foreseen deadline, Agency-Mediator shall be entitled to cancel the yacht booking.
Additional services and extras for which an extra payment shall be done in accordance with the effective pricelist (e.g. transfers from the airport, auxiliary engine, one-way deposits, etc.) must be confirmed by both sides in writing not later than 7 days prior to the beginning of the charter date.
If Client requires a skipper and/or any additional crew aboard, it would be necessary to point it out during the time of confirmation of charter reservation.
If Client does not require a skipper/crew, the copy of his/her skipper’s licence is to be sent on the occasion of vessel’s booking, for the verification and approval. If the licence is not approved, the Client will be obliged to take a professional skipper.
The Client must send Crew list not later than a week prior to the first day of charter.
Additionally, it is desirable to send an exact time of arrival, if possible with flight number just a week prior to the first day of charter, in case that clients travel by plane.
YACHT CHARTER CANCELLATION
Should the charter of the booked vessel be cancelled by Client, whatever the reasons may be, the Client shall be liable to inform Agency-Mediator in written form about the incident. The Client shall be charged for the cancellation in a minimum amount of:
-50% of the total price if a reservation has been cancelled more than 5 weeks to the first charter day
-100% of the total price if a reservation has been cancelled less than 5 weeks prior to the first charter day
Also, if additional services or crew were reserved and then cancelled by client, those have to be paid
nevertheless, according to the same percentages as listed above (50% for more than 5 weeks and 100% for less than 5 weeks prior to the first charter day).
Agency-Mediator shall consider the receipt date of information on cancellation as a basis for the settlement of accounts of the cancellation costs and expenditures.
Should a cancellation of the yacht charter booking be done owing to the Act of God, i.e. objective reasonsstated by Client (e.g. death in the family, serious health condition, serious accident, etc.) the amount paid
must not be returned, but Agency-Mediator will make all possible efforts to negotiate with Charter Company that the first next suitable free appointment of the vessel shall be offered at Client’s disposal. If Charter Company should approve a refund to Agency-Mediator, the same amount will be refunded to Cient.
Should the Client request a change in the charter period of the booked vessel, and/or a change of the type of the vessel, Agency-Mediator reserves the right to charge for the cancellation of the original booking.
DEPOSIT AND INSURANCE
According to industry standards, charter vessels are normally insured, with deductible franchise in the amount of the charged deposits according to the price-list for the current year. The insurance usually does not cover damages of personal property of clients and property brought to the vessel and a deliberately caused damage, or any damage caused by clients’ lack of diligence.
- A) Deposit
Before taking over the vessel the Client shall be liable to leave a deposit, according to the price-list for the current year. After the completion of yacht charter the whole deposit shall be repaid to the Client, unless some damages or loss of equipment are noticed. Otherwise the stated deposit shall be kept in the amount needed for the repair or for purchase of damaged or lost equipment. Paying deposit is obligatory also in cases when a skipper is hired. In such a case the stated deposit cannot be used for covering the costs which emerged due to skipper’s negligence, bad operation of the vessel or its equipment.
- B) Territorial waters
If the Client wants to sail outside the area of the territorial waters of the country where the vessel is taken, s/he shall be liable to inform the Agency-Mediator about their intentions as soon as possible (not less than 5 weeks before first charter day), in order to obtain the Charter Company consent and for the vessel to be insured for that occasion, and simultaneously the Client shall be charged for the stated insurance costs if applicable.
- C) Engine trouble and severe damages
If severe damages, engine troubles, loss of vessel, personal injuries and similar incidents would happen, the Client is liable to promptly inform about it the Charter Company, to obtain official minutes and certification on the emerged incident by other parties (e.g. port authority, physician, authorised expert, etc.).
Damages which were not reported and have no recorded minutes shall be considered to have emerged owing to the Client’s negligence, and in such a case they have to be paid by the Client.
TAKING OVER THE VESSEL
The Client is obliged that on the occasion of taking over/boarding the vessel he shall give to the representative of Charter Company a verified voucher or invoice with all Client’s data and charter appointment, as well as provide an insight into the original document of the skipper’s and VHF licence if he is the skipper.
According to the industry standards, on the occasion of taking over the vessel it is usual that the Client
examines the inventory list with the representative of Charter Company confirming the condition of the delivered vessel with his signature. The same procedure shall be done with instruments aboard.
Any possible Client’s subsequent complaints would not be accepted if the Client confirmed that the vessel was in order and that the vessel’s equipment was complete and in order as well. Possible concealed faults and absence of the equipment that Charter Company was unaware of during the take-over of the vessel do not entitle Client to require the charter price deduction.
Should any of the vessel’s parts be damaged or lost during the previous charter, and if it is impossible to obtain the new vessel parts prior to the date of the new charter, provided their loss will not seriously affect the security of navigation, it will not be possible for the Client to give up the charter or to demand a reduction of the charter price.
Charter Company may require from Client (only in bareboat charter) to demonstrate their navigation skills in presence of a representative of Charter Company. The costs for the stated demonstration shall be paid by Client and the time spent for testing shall be included in the charter period of the vessel. Should it be considered that the Client (skipper) is not skilled enough, Charter Company shall hire an official skipper and the required costs for such a service shall be paid by Client according to the current price-list.
If the Client refuses the assigned skipper, s/he will be forbidden for sail out, the contract shall be immediately terminated and the paid rent shall be kept without any rights of reimbursement.
TAKING BACK THE VESSEL
On the occasion of returning the vessel and rechecking the vessel according to the inventory list, commonly the fuel tank shall be examined, too. If the fuel tank is not full, the Client will be asked to pay for the fuel (calculated according to the maximum motor consumption for specific motor hours) as well as possible damages on a vessel up to the deposit amount, if any damages are found during the vessels examination. If the vessel is returned in a good state and a full fuel and water tank, the whole deposit is to be returned by the Charter Company to the Client. (only in bareboat charter where APA does not apply).
Should the Client take back the vessel to a port that is not included in the booking confirmation as destination port, the Client pays all costs included in the vessel’s transport to the destination port and if Client is overdue, s/he will be fined. (only in bareboat charter).
Running behind schedule owing to weather conditions is not justified because it is necessary to keep the vessel at an appropriate distance from the charter base during the last 48 hours before the charter ends. Every delay longer than 3 hours shall be fined with double daily charter price with the costs emerged due to the impossibility of the vessel’s delivery to next client. (only in bareboat charter). Every delay longer than 12 h without informing charter base will be defined as stolen yacht.
If the Client wishes to prolong the period of charter, whatever the reason may be, s/he should immediately inform Agency-Mediator about his/her intentions who shall in return inform the Client whether the desired prolongation is possible or not, and, if the prolongation is possible and confirmed, will organize for all the necessary paperwork for additional days.
CLIENT’S LIABILITIES
The Client shall be liable, in bareboat charter:
-to be nautically and navigationally skilled for the vessel charter, otherwise he shall be liable to accept a skipper according to the effective price-list provided by the Charter Company
-to have all required licences for operating the vessel
-not to leave the vessel to the third party
-not to transport persons or goods for commercial purposes
-to have aboard exact number of persons as stated on the crew list
-the Client warrants joint responsibility for all crew members
-to keep the crew list with the certificate of residence registration together with ship documentation for the whole duration of charter
-to inform the Agency-Mediator about any possible changes in the number of crew members or passengers
-to respect legal regulations of the host country
-not to participate in competitions and regattas without consent granted by Charter Company
-to hold on to obligatory control intervals for the duration of cruising
-in case of towing an award for rescuing shall be concluded prior to the acceptance of help
-to undertake all safety precautions in order to keep the vessel in delivered condition and avoid towing of the vessel
-not to leave the port if the foreseen wind force were estimated stronger than 25 knots, or if the port
authorities issued a prohibition on leaving port
-to plan the navigation route very carefully, so that two days before arrival the vessel is not more than 40 NM distant from the charter base, one day before arrival the vessel is not more than 30 NM distant from the charter base
-the Client shall commit himself not to sail at night without consent given by Charter Company
-inform the Charter Company base manager about the vessel’s exact location in case of severe weather conditions (galeforce wind), in order to avoid unnecessary and expensive search for the vessel
-the Client shall not occupy himself with fishing or any other submarine activities without a valid license
-the Client shall, depending on weather conditions, avoid unnecessary burdening of masts, sails and ropes
-the Client shall not embark pets (dogs, cats, birds, etc.) aboard without consent
The Client shall be liable, in crewed charter:
-to respect legal regulations of the host country,
-to inform the Charter Company about any possible changes in the number of crew members or passengers,
All consequences arising from the Client’s not respecting the liabilities are the exclusive responsibility of the Client.
If the Client has chosen to hire any members of the crew (skipper, hostess, cook etc.), the Client is obliged to treat them well and with respectful manners. The Client is obliged to provide provisions for the crew, if not agreed in a different way. In case of hiring any members of the crew, the boat must return to the base on the last night of the charter period (Friday), not later than 18:00 hours.
CHARTER COMPANY LIABILITIES
The Charter Company will ensure the correctness of the accommodation (i.e. of the vessels), current maintenance, as well as preparation of the vessel during check-in and check-out.
If boat has serious demage caused by previous clients, the Charter Company is obliged to rectify it within 48 hours. If Charter Company fair to do so, the Client has a right to reimbursement for all days when he was unable to use the boat. Also, if it is impractical for the Charter Company to place the reserved boat at the Client’s disposal at the agreed time and in the agreed place, the Charter Company is obliged to ensure that a substitute boat is available with the similar or better specification than the one reserved. If the Charter Company is unable to provide a substitute boat, the Client has the right to cancel the contract and request reimbursement of the whole rental amount or part of the amount for those days when he was unable to use the boat.
The Client has a right to reimbursement only of the paid rental amount. All other rights are excluded.
Furthermore, the Charter Company shall bear the berth expenditures in the base marina on check-in/check-out days and the insurance of the vessel(s), unless specifically stated otherwise in the charter offer to the Client prior to booking confirmation.
While cruising/sailing, if the boat or its equipment is damaged due to natural causes, the Client is obliged to contact the Charter Company immediately. The Charter Company is obliged to rectify any damage to the boat within maximum 48 hours. In this instance, the Client has no right to any reimbursement.
The Charter Company is fully responsible to bear expenses towards the Client in case of not fulfilling its obligations.
AGENCY-MEDIATOR LIABILITIES
Agency-Mediator is obliged to answer Client’s relevant questions and provide information needed for Client’s preparation for the charter.
Agency-Mediator shall inform the Charter Company about all relevant booking information, as well as make payments to the Charter Company and perform all other duties according to business cooperation contract concluded between Agency-Mediator and Charter Company.
In case of any possible disputes between Client and the Charter Company before, during or after the charter, Agency-Mediator will put its best efforts to help the Client and strive to protect Client’s interests to the maximum possible extent. Also, in case that Charter Company fails to fulfil some of its obligations towards the Client, Agency-Mediator will support and assist the Client, striving to obtain appropriate refund from the Charter Company to the Client.
In extreme and very rare cases that the Charter Company fully fails to fulfil its obligations (e.g. filing bankruptcy, loosing vessels or similar), Agency-Mediator will put utmost effort to assist the Client in finding a best possible alternative solution with minimum possible costs/losses for the Client.
Client acknowledges that Agency-Mediator shall not be liable to pay to the Client any refund or loss caused by failure of Charter Company to fulfil its obligations, provided that Agency-Mediator had made appropriate payments to the Charter Company for chartering the vessel(s) in question. Still, Agency-Mediator will assist and help the Client towards obtaining appropriate refunds and protecting Clients interests as stated in the paragraph above.