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APA on a charter yacht in 2026 is typically 25 to 35 percent of base fee, with 30 percent as the Mediterranean median. On a $200,000 base fee, that is a $60,000 cash float paid two to four weeks before the charter start, alongside the final base-fee balance. The captain spends against the float during the trip, presents a reconciled report at trip end, and refunds or invoices the difference. This page covers what APA actually covers, what it does not, how the percentage moves with yacht size and itinerary, and the broker behaviours that are flags worth questioning.
The mechanism dates to the MYBA charter contract used across the Mediterranean and most of the rest of the world. APA exists because operating costs during a charter (fuel, dockage, provisioning, communications) vary too much to include in the base fee. The boat does not know in advance whether the client will cruise 200 miles or 700, dock alongside in Monaco for $40,000 or anchor for free, eat lobster and first-growth Bordeaux or grilled fish and Provencal rose. The float lets the captain operate the trip on the client's behalf without billing back every line item.
Typical APA by yacht size
APA percentage is roughly flat across yacht size as a percentage of base, but the absolute dollar number grows quickly. The percentage band tightens at the top because larger yachts have more documented operating cost data and brokers have less excuse for under or over floating.
| LOA band | Typical APA % | APA on a mid-band peak Mediterranean week |
|---|---|---|
| 24 to 29m | 25 to 30% | $14,000 to $24,000 on a $70K base |
| 30 to 34m | 28 to 32% | $28,000 to $40,000 on a $110K base |
| 35 to 39m | 28 to 32% | $42,000 to $58,000 on a $170K base |
| 40 to 49m | 30 to 33% | $66,000 to $90,000 on a $220K base |
| 50 to 59m | 30 to 35% | $78,000 to $110,000 on a $260K base |
| 60 to 69m | 30 to 35% | $135,000 to $170,000 on a $450K base |
| 70 to 79m | 30 to 35% | $215,000 to $270,000 on a $700K base |
| 80 to 89m | 30 to 35% | $285,000 to $370,000 on a $950K base |
| 90 to 99m | 32 to 36% | $415,000 to $520,000 on a $1.35M base |
| 100m and above | 32 to 36% | $610,000 to $720,000 on a $1.9M base |
APA below 25 percent on any size band is a flag. The operator is structurally under-floating and the trip will end with an invoice for overspend that the client did not anticipate. APA above 38 percent on a mid-size yacht is also a flag in the opposite direction: the operator is padding the float, holding the client's cash for 8 to 12 weeks against operating expenses that will not materialise. Push back politely. Most central agents will adjust on request.
What APA covers
The major line items, with rough percentage of total APA spend on a typical Mediterranean peak week at 50m.
Fuel: 35 to 50 percent of APA. Cruising fuel at 50m runs 400 to 700 litres an hour at cruising speed. A moderate-cruising week (50 to 80 nautical miles a day, 5 to 7 hours underway) burns $22,000 to $36,000 in fuel. A passage-heavy week (transmed crossing, Croatia to Greece, Sardinia to Mallorca) pushes fuel to $50,000 or above.
Dockage and port fees: 15 to 30 percent of APA. Anchorages are free; alongside berths in Saint-Tropez, Monaco, Capri, Porto Cervo, and the Balearics in peak August run $3,500 to $12,000 a night at 50m, more at 80m+. Port fees, anchorage fees in regulated cruising grounds (some Croatian and Greek national park anchorages), and pilotage fees in major ports are also charged to APA.
Provisioning: 15 to 25 percent of APA. Food and standard beverage for 10 to 12 guests at 50m runs $14,000 to $22,000 a week. The variable here is wine and spirits; a week with first-growth Bordeaux at dinner and rare spirits at the bar can double this number. Most yachts maintain a standard wine list (Provence rose, Burgundy white, mid-range Bordeaux, Champagne) within APA and treat owner-list wines as a pre-charter add against APA on request.
Shore excursions, tender ops, and water toys: 5 to 10 percent of APA. Restaurant reservations arranged by the chief stew, vehicle rentals at port stops, helicopter movements where the yacht does not have its own pad, tender fuel, water-toy fuel and rentals, and shore excursion guides. Helicopter movements on yachts with their own pad are also charged to APA.
Communications: 1 to 3 percent of APA. Starlink Maritime Pro plus crew data plus business-grade backup at 50m runs $2,200 to $3,500 a week. The boat-side communications structure has changed materially since 2022; Starlink is now standard and the cost has dropped meaningfully from VSAT-era pricing.
Crew taxis, owner-account beverages, security pass-throughs, flowers: 2 to 4 percent of APA. Crew taxis to and from airports for crew changes, owner-account beverages (specific wines, spirits, or specialty items requested by the client), security operations where the client brings a security detail, and the standard flower order across the yacht.
Minor repairs and consumables: 1 to 3 percent of APA. Replacement of consumables (filters, oils, small spares), minor repairs that arise during the trip (a broken tender prop, a minor electrical fault, a damaged tender fender), and laundry above standard volume.
What APA does not cover
Five items are explicitly outside APA on every standard MYBA contract.
The base fee. APA is a float on top of the base fee, not a discount or a partial payment against it.
Gratuity. Crew tips are paid separately at trip end, not against APA.
VAT or local equivalent. VAT is calculated on the base fee in most jurisdictions and is invoiced separately, not against APA.
Owner-side pre-charter requests above standard provisioning. Specific case orders of rare wines, owner-list spirits, specialty fresh produce flown in from elsewhere, or pre-charter setups (specific gym equipment, specific water toys not standard on the boat) are pre-charter add-ons against a separate budget. They are not run through APA without prior agreement.
Damage. Any damage to the yacht caused by the client or guests is billed separately under the contract's damage provisions, against the security deposit first and the client directly for amounts above.
How APA reconciliation works
Standard MYBA practice. APA is paid in full to the operator or central agent two to four weeks before the charter start, alongside the final base-fee balance.
During the charter, the captain spends against the float using a yacht credit card, cash, or wire transfers from the float. Receipts are collected for every line item. The chief stew typically tracks provisioning; the chief engineer tracks fuel and dockage; the captain reviews and signs off. APA tracking is on a spreadsheet or platform (some operators use accounting software like MarineSuite, some use straight Excel).
At trip end, the captain presents the reconciled APA report. The standard format is line-item by category, with receipts attached. Underspend is refunded by wire to the client within 30 days. Overspend triggers an invoice payable within 14 days. The reconciliation should include the receipts categorised by line item; a report that shows only totals by category is acceptable but not ideal.
On well-run charters, APA reconciles within 5 to 10 percent of the float (refund or top-up). Outliers in either direction should be questioned. A refund of 25 percent of the float suggests the operator over-floated; a top-up demand of 25 percent suggests the operator under-floated or the trip ran materially more expensive than the float assumed.
When APA percentage moves
Three factors push the APA percentage up or down from the 30 percent baseline.
Itinerary intensity. A high-cruising itinerary (200 plus nautical miles a day on average, multiple long passages) pushes APA up 3 to 5 percentage points because fuel dominates the float. A low-cruising itinerary (50 nautical miles a day, anchorage-heavy) pushes APA down 2 to 4 percentage points.
Cruising ground supply costs. Remote cruising grounds where supply runs through specialist provisioners (Maldives, Seychelles, Greenland, Polynesia) push APA up 3 to 7 percentage points because everything from Champagne to fresh berries is sourced through air-freight networks at premium pricing. Standard Mediterranean and Caribbean grounds with established supply networks (Cote d'Azur, Sardinia, BVI, Antigua) operate at the band median.
Onboard staffing intensity. Yachts with extensive helicopter operations, submarine use, and specialty service (dedicated children's chef, doctor, personal trainer) push APA up because the cost base supporting that service is higher. Yachts with a stripped service profile push APA down.
What we would push back on
Four broker patterns around APA worth pushing back on at booking.
Flat-rate APA across all itineraries. Some central agents quote a flat 32 percent APA on every charter the yacht does, regardless of cruising pattern. The boat's actual operating cost is materially different between a quiet Saint-Tropez week and a 700-mile Croatian crossing week, and the APA should reflect that. Ask for an itinerary-specific quote. The central agent should be able to produce one within 24 hours.
APA above 38 percent without specific documentation. Some operators set APA at 38 to 42 percent across the board on the basis that it is easier to refund than to invoice. The mechanism is fair (the client gets the refund eventually) but the client is floating an extra 5 to 10 percent of base fee against operating costs that will not materialise. Push back to the band median unless the operator can specifically justify the higher float (remote cruising grounds, documented average usage, specialty service requirements).
No itemised APA reconciliation at trip end. A reconciliation that shows category totals without line-item receipts is acceptable but not ideal. A reconciliation that does not include receipts is a flag. Insist on receipts at booking, in writing, as part of the contract terms. Reputable central agents (Burgess, Edmiston, Y.CO, Camper and Nicholsons, IYC, Northrop and Johnson, Fraser, Ocean Independence) deliver receipts as standard. Smaller central agents sometimes need to be reminded.
Mid-charter top-up demands. APA top-ups are normal at trip end. Mid-charter top-up demands are not. If the captain requests a mid-charter top-up because the float is exhausted, the operator is either under-floating systematically (a structural problem) or the trip is running materially over budget (a planning problem). Either way, ask for the spend report at the point of request before authorising the top-up, and ask why the original float was set where it was.
How APA fits in the all-in cost picture
APA is one of four cost components in a standard MYBA charter. The other three are the base fee, the gratuity, and VAT or local equivalent. On a typical 50m peak Mediterranean week with a $260,000 base fee, the components stack as base $260,000, APA $78,000 (30 percent), gratuity $31,200 (12 percent), VAT $26,000 (10 percent French short-term regime). All-in $395,200, with APA representing 20 percent of total spend. At smaller yacht sizes, APA represents 22 to 26 percent of total spend. At larger sizes, APA can represent 25 to 30 percent of total spend because base fee growth slows above 80m while operating cost growth continues.
For broader context on charter cost, see Yacht charter cost by size. For region-specific charter rates, see Mediterranean charter weekly rates and Caribbean charter weekly rates. For crew gratuity practice, see Yacht crew gratuity by region. For the underlying contract structure, see MYBA charter contract explained.
FAQ
What is APA on a yacht charter? A cash float paid alongside the charter base fee, typically 25 to 35 percent of base, covering fuel, dockage, provisioning, communications, and minor pass-throughs during the charter. The captain spends against the float and reconciles at trip end.
What percentage of base fee is APA? 25 to 35 percent in 2026. 30 percent is the Mediterranean median.
What does APA cover? Fuel, dockage, provisioning, shore excursions, tender ops, communications, laundry, flowers, owner-account beverages, security pass-throughs, helicopter movements, and minor repairs.
When is APA paid and how is it reconciled? Paid two to four weeks before the charter start. Captain spends against the float during the trip. Reconciliation at trip end. Underspend refunded within 30 days; overspend invoiced within 14 days.
Is APA negotiable? The percentage is, especially on shoulder dates and on smaller yachts. The mechanism (float upfront, reconcile at end) is standard.