Charters are ship leases. They are generally either time charters or bareboat charters. Under a time charter, the owner remains responsible for providing the crew and for certain repairs and maintenance costs. A short-term charter (STC) is a time charter of one year or less. A medium-term charter (MTC) is a time charter of more than one year but less than three years. A long-term charter (LTC) is a time charter of three years or more. Bareboat charters are arrangements where the charterer becomes directly responsible for providing crew and costs relating to operation and maintenance.