A long-awaited online platform to charter pleasure craft and yachts for Greece’s warm and inviting waters finally debuted on Friday, with the government promising a one-stop procedure to simplify and boost this type of high-end tourism.
The platform, e-CharterPermission, is viewed as a distinct liberalization in a sector long-burdened by layers of bureaucracy, conflicting jurisdictions and often pricey fees. The initiative aims to dramatically boost homeporting of large yachts in the country and multiply leases of pleasure craft.
Specific time leases for such vessels to operate in Greek waters, known as “Charter Permission”, will include professional craft exceeding 35 meters and under a foreign registry. This type of chartering involves a full lease to be executed only within Greek waters. Another type of lease, the “Charter Permission Plus”, can commence or end in Greek territory.
The duration of the lease is set, initially, at 28 days.
The e-CharterPermission site is at https://echarter.yna.gov.gr
