Legal
Deliveries and sales come apart in the office, not at sea
A flag deregistration left half done, a registry charge nobody looked at, an engine change never recorded or an incomplete transfer can stop a deal when everything else was ready. And the worst of it is that this is almost always discovered late, once money is committed, a buyer is waiting or a boat is halfway there.
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The boat can be fine and the file not
There are two different inspections before moving or selling a boat, and only one of them is routinely done. The technical one — engines, hull, systems — everybody asks for. The documentary one almost nobody asks for until it is needed.
The trip-ups repeat: who appears as owner and whether the chain of title can actually be demonstrated; a registry carrying a charge, a mortgage or an unclosed lease; an engine change or a technical modification carried out years ago and never recorded; a registration category or use that does not match what the boat actually does; permits, certificates or inspections out of date.
None of those problems shows up while sailing. All of them appear exactly when there is a hurry.
What travels with the boat on a delivery
On a passage, documentation is not an administrative formality: it is what allows the boat in and out of ports and answers an inspection. Aboard, in date, there must be the vessel’s papers, insurance with the passage confirmed, the crew’s documents, and clearance where the route requires it.
On international legs, add entry and exit formalities in each country, which depend on the boat’s flag and the nationality of those aboard, and in some cases proof of the vessel’s tax position. A perfectly prepared boat can be stuck in a foreign port over a document that could have been sorted in a week before departure.
Which is why paperwork enters the route planning at the same level as weather and fuel.
A sale: what to look at before signing
Four areas hold almost all of it. Title: who owns her according to the registry and what documents prove the chain down to them. Registration and flag: the current registry, whether a deregistration is needed and what the destination registry requires. Tax position: what was paid originally, what is due on this transfer and whether any exemption applies. And encumbrances: marine mortgages, leases, charges or entries that condition the sale and must be cleared first.
To that add the technical details that form part of the file and are usually out of date: hull identification, CE marking where applicable, the engines actually installed, the ship station licence and MMSI.
The practical rule is simple: finding a missing document before signing is a formality. Finding it afterwards is a problem, and sometimes one that leaves the boat in limbo for months.
When the deal is international
If the boat, the buyer and the flag are not in the same country, layers get added: deregistration from the previous registry, proof of title acceptable at destination, a justified tax position, technical documentation, translations and sometimes apostilles, the new flag’s requirements and, where applicable, customs formalities.
The order matters as much as the content. Some documents can only be requested after another, and a badly sequenced file can add weeks. The right approach is to study the origin, the destination and the boat’s actual situation first, and build the sequence afterwards — not the other way round.
The most expensive and most common error is closing the deal thinking only about the contract, then discovering a document is missing to register the boat at the far end.
When a specialist is needed
A clean change of title between two residents, with a Spanish-flagged boat and complete paperwork, is a standard file. It stops being one the moment any of these appear: a foreign flag, a non-resident buyer or seller, an inheritance or gift, an older boat with incomplete documentation, modifications or engine changes never recorded, registry charges, a change of use to commercial charter, or amateur construction.
In those cases what resolves things is not filling in forms: it is knowing which authority, which registry, which surveyor or which document actually unlocks the next step. That comes from marine specialisation, not from a general agency.
Who we work with
We are not lawyers or filing agents, and we do not pretend to be. We coordinate the marine side — the boat, the passage, the crew, the handover — and take the legal and documentary side to people who do it every day.
In Ibiza we work regularly with Almar Lawyers, and specifically with Alejandro Bonet, with whom we close most of these matters. Deliveries, sales, flags and files that fall outside the standard: our experience with them has been consistently good, and they are who we point clients to when we are asked.
If you are preparing a delivery or a transaction and are not sure where your boat’s paperwork stands, tell us at the start. Checking beforehand costs a consultation; checking afterwards costs the deal.
Frequently asked questions
What documents must be aboard for a delivery?
The boat’s papers in date, insurance with the passage confirmed in writing, the crew’s documents, and clearance where the route requires it. International legs add entry and exit formalities in each country and, in some cases, proof of the boat’s tax position.
Is buying a Spanish-flagged boat the same as buying a foreign-flagged one?
No. Flag, country of origin, tax position and intended destination change the documents, the taxes and the formalities required, and also the order in which they have to be done.
What most often blocks a transaction?
Uncleared registry charges, chains of title that cannot be demonstrated, engine changes or modifications never recorded, and flag deregistrations left half done. All of it is detectable before signing if somebody looks.
Do you handle the formalities yourselves?
No. We coordinate the marine side and refer the legal and documentary work to specialists. In Ibiza we work regularly with Almar Lawyers, with Alejandro Bonet as our contact.
