Vessel Leasing | Fishing Boats & Workboats

New Zealand’s fishing fleet needs renewing

MBIE’s 2022 inshore fleet business case looked at the 169 inshore vessels of 16 to 24 m. What it found:

39 yearsaverage vessel age

68%of vessels belong to single-vessel operators

When the inshore fleet was built

Share of the 169 inshore vessels (MBIE, 2022)

82%built between 1940 and 2000

18%modern

Good operators with good gear deserve good options going forward. That’s what this leasing programme is for.

Leasing is a way around that. This page sets out the four ways we structure it, what each one is good for, and – just as importantly – where each one will cost you. We’ve put the drawbacks in writing because you’ll find them eventually, and we’d rather you found them here.

It comes down to two decisions

Everything else follows from these.

Do you want to own the vessel at the end? That’s a straight lease versus a lease to own.
Who looks after it? That’s maintained versus non-maintained.

	You maintain it	We maintain it
You hand it back at the end	Straight lease	Maintained lease
You own it at the end	Lease to own	Maintained lease to own

The four options

The good and the not-so-good, side by side.

Option 1

Straight lease, non-maintained

You lease the vessel for an agreed term, run it, maintain it yourself, and hand it back at the end.

What’s good about it

Lowest regular payment of the four options.
You control your own maintenance and choose who does it.
At the end of the term you can walk away, extend, or move into a newer vessel.
Suits an operator working to a contract with a defined life.

What’s not

You build no equity. At the end of the term you own nothing.
You carry all maintenance, survey and slipping costs – and the risk of an expensive year.
Return condition is agreed at the start. If the vessel comes back rough, you pay the difference.

Option 2

Maintained lease

The same arrangement, but scheduled maintenance, survey and slipping sit with us and are inside the payment.

What’s good about it

One predictable number covering the vessel and keeping it in survey.
No refit shocks, and no survey administration to chase.
We do the work through our access to the Lyttelton dry dock and slipway, so minimising downtime is our problem rather than yours.
Straightforward to budget against a season, a quota year or a contract.
Frees you up to run the operation instead of managing a maintenance programme.

What’s not

Higher regular payment than the non-maintained version.
You work to our yard and our maintenance schedule, not your own.
Still no equity at the end of the term.
Damage, grounding and breakdown caused by misuse or neglect remain yours regardless of who maintains the vessel.

Option 3

Lease to own, non-maintained

Payments run across the term and title transfers to you at the end. You maintain it throughout.

What’s good about it

You end up owning the vessel. Every payment is building toward something.
You maintain it your way, on your schedule.
Usually the cheapest route to ownership if you don’t have the cash price available now.

What’s not

Higher payment than a straight lease on the same vessel.
You inherit an ageing asset – including whatever refit it needs the year after it becomes yours.

Option 4

Maintained lease to own

Title transfers to you at the end of the term, and we maintain the vessel the whole way through.

What’s good about it

You own it at the end, and it arrives in known condition because we’ve maintained it throughout.
Complete maintenance history in one place. That is worth real money at survey and at resale.
The most predictable of the four to budget for.
Best fit for an operator who intends to keep the vessel long term.

What’s not

Highest regular payment of the four.
Longest commitment.
You’re tied to our yard for the duration of the lease.

Financing your vessel with us

We can direct finance a new build and carry on as your lessor, so one party looks after the vessel from design through to the end of the term. Everything is subject to agreement and credit approval.

DesignBrief and design agreed with you and our naval architects.
BuildBuilt to the approved design. We can direct finance the build.
HandoverCondition recorded in writing and photographs. The lease starts.
Lease termMost leases run for 10 years. Maintained or not, as agreed.
End of termHand it back, or take title on a lease to own.

Progress towards owning the vessel

Illustrative shape only, not a quote. Over a typical 10-year term.

Lease to ownStraight lease

Show as a table

Form	During the term	At the end
Lease to own	Payments build towards ownership	Title transfers to you
Straight lease	You use the vessel; no ownership builds	Vessel handed back

Leasing compared with buying and financing it

Most of our leases run for 10 years. Over that term the overall cost is about the same as buying the vessel and financing it through a bank. What differs is how you get there.

	Leasing with us	Buying and financing it
Overall cost over a 10-year term	About the same	About the same
Cost predictability	High – especially maintained	Lower – refit and survey land when they land
Who carries refit risk	Us, on a maintained lease	You
Equity built	None on a straight lease; full on lease to own	Full from day one
Flexibility to change vessel	Good at end of term	Only by selling
Restrictions on use and modification	Yes – agreed at the start	None
Time to get working	About the same – we build what you want, to fit your operation	About the same

Put simply: leasing doesn’t cost you more over a typical 10-year term. What it changes is how you get there – a payment you can plan around, and on a maintained lease the refit risk sits with us.

What a maintained lease typically covers

Final scope is written into each agreement, but as a general guide:

Typically included	Typically not included
Scheduled servicing to survey and manufacturer intervals	Fuel, oil and consumables
Periodic survey and slipping	Crew and crew costs
Antifoul and hull preservation	Insurance
Planned engineering and replacement of wear items	Fishing gear, nets, wire and catch handling equipment
Compliance and survey documentation support	Damage, grounding, collision or breakdown from misuse or neglect
Our labour and dock time for the above	Operating outside the agreed area, hours or conditions

Why a maintained lease evens out the cost

Maintenance is lightest in the early years and heaviest around each five-yearly special survey. A maintained lease turns that lumpy pattern into one level payment.

A 10-year lease: yearly maintenance cost against a level payment

Illustrative shape only, not a quote and not to scale. The same work is done either way.

Maintenance cost if you handle it yourselfMaintained lease payment

Show as a table

Year	Maintenance cost if you handle it yourself	Maintained lease payment
1 to 3	Low, rising	Level
4	Building towards survey	Level
5	Highest: special survey and docking	Level
6 to 9	Low, rising again	Level
10	Highest: special survey and docking	Level

Who does what

On a maintained lease, the work is ours and the records are shared.

Task	Stark Marine	You, the operator
Maintenance plan and schedule	Writes, owns, updates and delivers it	Agrees operating hours and season windows
Routine servicing and repairs	Sets the scope and carries out the work at the vessel’s port or at our yard	Gives access and reports defects
Survey, docking and gauging	Plans, books the dock, attends and carries out the work; the surveyor is independent	Releases the vessel for the agreed window
Records and compliance	Keeps the maintenance record and survey file; signs off each job with photos	Keeps logbooks and daily checks; countersigns completed jobs
Defects from misuse or neglect	Assesses and quotes	Pays

The maintained payment is higher than the non-maintained one. You work to the agreed maintenance schedule, which we set around your fishing season and quota year.

If you maintain it yourself

On a non-maintained lease you choose who does the work, within a few controls that keep the vessel in survey and its value protected:

Maintain the vessel to the approved maintenance plan, the manufacturers’ intervals and the survey cycle, including dry-docking at least every five years.
Use service providers we have approved in writing – or ask us to do the work on a work-order basis.
Keep logbooks, work records and survey certificates current and open to inspection.
Return the vessel in the agreed condition, measured against the handover report, photographs and plate-thickness baseline.
We issue an approved maintenance plan at handover and inspect periodically, with a full inspection before each survey and at return.
An optional maintenance reserve account, funded from each payment, can smooth survey and refit years.

How we keep a vessel in survey

On a maintained lease, the vessel is kept to Maritime NZ survey standards. We write the plan, carry out the work and keep the records, and an independent surveyor and you check it.

Qualified peopleThe work is done by Stark Marine’s own engineers and tradespeople, working to written criteria: methods accepted by Maritime NZ and surveyors, manufacturer training or authorisation for engines, gearboxes, generators, jets and hydraulics (or a manufacturer’s service agent brought in by us, under our responsibility), site-safety prequalification (we hold SiteWise Gold), and insurance and quality records.
A planned maintenance systemEvery task is triggered by running hours or calendar date, whichever comes first, using a reference schedule drawn from engine makers, class societies and Maritime NZ. A job closes only with sign-off, photographs and a parts record.
A fixed survey cycleAnnual survey, an intermediate survey, and a five-yearly special survey, with two dockings per five years no more than 36 months apart. The surveyor is independent of Stark Marine. Intervals follow Maritime Rule Part 44 and are confirmed with Maritime NZ for each vessel.
Condition monitoringOil, coolant and fuel sampling every 250 to 500 running hours, plate-thickness gauging at special survey, coating inspection and hydraulic oil cleanliness checks, with trends reviewed against the handover baseline.
Independent checksAn independent surveyor attends every dry-docking and survey, and you countersign each completed job.

Designed to keep working

Our designs are planned around modular main engines. The design target is for a crew of three to exchange an engine alongside in under four hours, to be proven in a witnessed trial exchange. The removed engine goes to a workshop for overhaul without holding the vessel, and a spare main engine is planned to be held in storage, ready to fit – so an engine failure should cost hours rather than weeks.

Systems are modular and standardised across vessels, so parts, spares and procedures carry from one vessel to the next.

Vessels we lease, and the standard they meet

Fishing vessels and workboats of every size, from small inshore boats up to 60 m and larger. Any lease form can be applied to any size band.

Inshore, offshore and deepwater fishing vessels
Fish farm and mussel farm workboats
Service tugs and pilot boats
Survey and research vessels
Charter and expedition vessels
Work boats and barges

Size	Vessels	Typical work	How it’s maintained
Small and inshore (to about 35 m)	Fishing vessels, workboats, service tugs	Inshore, coastal and offshore fishing; port and service work	Our team at the home port or our Lyttelton yard; slipway-capable
Mid-size (about 35 to 60 m)	Offshore fishing, survey, research and expedition vessels	Deep-water fishing and special-purpose work	Dry-dock based; class-surveyed
Large (60 m and larger)	Large fishing, survey and special-purpose ships	Long-range and specialist operations	Dry-dock and larger yard; class survey cycle

The standard applied to every vessel

Design: by qualified naval architects, such as Oceantech NZ, whom we work with.
Build standard: a recognised classification or Maritime NZ-accepted standard, with independent plan approval and surveys during construction, then a delivery survey in New Zealand before handover.
Handover condition: a written condition report with photographs and, for steel and aluminium hulls, an ultrasonic plate-thickness baseline, agreed in the lease and repeated at return.
Registration: New Zealand registered.
Hull material: chosen per vessel. Steel, aluminium, glass-reinforced plastic and wood each have their own failure modes, so the maintenance programme is written for the material – gauging, coatings and anodes for metal hulls, moisture and laminate checks for plastic, and rot and fastening checks for wood.

Maritime NZ compliance stays with the operator

Whoever operates the vessel stays responsible for Maritime NZ compliance – the operator under a lease, and the owner-operator once title passes. Depending on the vessel, that means a Safe Operational Plan or a Maritime Transport Operator Plan (MTOP) accepted by Maritime NZ. Which one applies is confirmed for each vessel before a lease is signed.

You hold and keep current your operator plan, crew certificates and survey certificates.
Our maintenance schedule, survey dates and records are written to feed your plan, so the same records serve Maritime NZ audits and surveys.
Our role is support and assurance, not substitution – the operator remains the responsible party.

How the maintenance part of your payment is adjusted

On a maintained lease, your payment has a vessel part and a maintenance part. Only the maintenance part is indexed, so a rise in service costs moves your payment by only a fraction of the rise.

Cost in the maintenance part	Index it follows (agreed in each lease)
Labour: our team and yard	Stats NZ Labour Cost Index
Parts and materials: filters, seals, spares, coatings, steel	Stats NZ Producers Price Index, inputs
Yard, slipway and dock charges	Published yard rate cards
Servicing fluids	Stats NZ Producers Price Index, inputs

The vessel part never moves. It is fixed for the term.
Annual review. On each lease anniversary the maintenance part moves by the weighted change in those indexes over the previous 12 months, with each index weighted by its share of our costs.
Cap and floor. The annual change is capped, and the payment never goes down because of indexation. Any capped excess is carried forward and recovered in later years when the indexes are lower. The cap is agreed in each lease.
Cost risk is ours. We deliver the work, so a cost rise between annual reviews is our risk, not yours.
Five-year re-base. At each special survey the programme scope and price are reset from our recorded job costs and the survey findings, checked by the independent surveyor.
Transparency. Each year you receive an indexation statement showing the workings.
Non-maintained lease. You pay service costs directly; any inspection charge from us moves with CPI. A small admin charge also moves with CPI.

A maintained lease also levels out the maintenance cost, which is lightest in the early years and heaviest around the first special survey. A maintenance reserve account does the same job on a non-maintained lease.

How the commercial side works

Most of our leases run for 10 years. Term and payment frequency are set per vessel and per operation. There is no standard rate because there is no standard boat or standard job.
Payments are normally monthly or quarterly.
On a straight lease, at the end of the term you hand back, extend, or move into a newer vessel.
On a lease to own, title transfers to you at the end of the term.
The vessel is handed over in an agreed condition and returned in an agreed condition. Both are written down and photographed at the start, so there is nothing to argue about later.

Want a vessel built for you?

On top of leasing what’s available, we can custom build your dream vessel and lease it back to you – be it a fishing vessel, service tug, survey vessel or research special. We can also direct finance new builds, subject to agreement and credit approval.

About our boat building →

Why lease from us

Stark Marine – dry dock access, slipway, fabrication, machining and marine engineering at Lyttelton. For design and naval architecture we work with Oceantech NZ.

On a maintained lease that matters more than it might sound. We are not a finance company that subcontracts the maintenance out and hopes for the best – we are the marine engineers who do the work. The vessel’s condition and its downtime are our problem, not something we pass back to you in a variation.

Every boat is custom built, so every lease starts with a conversation

There is no standard rate because there is no standard boat or standard job. Tell us about the vessel and the work it will do, and Arron will come back to you. It helps to have an idea of where it will be based, the size you need and whether you want it maintained, but none of it has to be final.

Your details

Your name

Company or operation (optional)

Email

Phone (optional)

The vessel

I'm interested in

Type of vessel

Approximate length (optional)

Hull material (optional)

Where it will be based (home port)

Where it will operate (optional)

Days or hours a year you expect to run it (optional)

Crew numbers (optional)

How you would like to get it

Lease form, if leasing (optional)

Term you have in mind (optional)

When you need it working (optional)

Finance (optional)

Tell us about the job (optional)

Sending this lets Arron contact you about your enquiry. It is not a commitment either way. All arrangements are subject to agreement and, for leases and finance, credit approval.

This page is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Lease payments, deductibility and GST treatment depend on how an agreement is structured and on your own circumstances – talk to your accountant before you commit. All arrangements are subject to agreement and to credit approval.

Let’s Get Your Vessel Back to Work

Fast response. Local knowledge. Nationwide capability.

Phone027 527 7662

LocationPort of Lyttelton, New Zealand
Lyttelton 8082, Canterbury

Who you deal withArron, the owner of the business

SEND AN ENQUIRY →

Your enquiry goes straight to Arron at Stark Marine Ltd.

Fishing boats and workboats – how it works, and what it costs you

New Zealand’s fishing fleet needs renewing

When the inshore fleet was built

It comes down to two decisions

The four options

Straight lease, non-maintained

What’s good about it

What’s not

Maintained lease

What’s good about it

What’s not

Lease to own, non-maintained

What’s good about it

What’s not

Maintained lease to own

What’s good about it

What’s not

Financing your vessel with us

Progress towards owning the vessel

Leasing compared with buying and financing it

What a maintained lease typically covers

Why a maintained lease evens out the cost

A 10-year lease: yearly maintenance cost against a level payment

Who does what

If you maintain it yourself

How we keep a vessel in survey

Designed to keep working

Vessels we lease, and the standard they meet

The standard applied to every vessel

Maritime NZ compliance stays with the operator

How the maintenance part of your payment is adjusted

How the commercial side works

Want a vessel built for you?

Why lease from us

Every boat is custom built, so every lease starts with a conversation

Your details

The vessel

How you would like to get it

Let’s Get Your Vessel Back to Work