This distinction has profound importance for the brokerage industry. Provided the sale contract is made between a private seller and the buyer, many of the onerous legislative requirements, (not least that the vessel, whether new or secondhand, shall be of satisfactory quality), will apply to neither agent nor transaction.

The fact that the seller’s agent may be acting in the course of a business is immaterial for the purposes of the legislation as it is the seller’s status that is significant. Brokers acting on instructions have consequently not been directly exposed to risk, provided they have not made misrepresentations about, or applied false trades descriptions to, the vessels on their books.

By contrast, boat retailers, fully exposed to arguably unrealistically onerous statutory obligations, are presently struggling with worryingly high levels of rejections of new and secondhand vessels, often months after the original sale.

Things may change for the worse. EU discussion documents seen by the BMF contemplate changing the law so that the involvement of any commercial party, including a broker or agent, in a private transaction will automatically render the transaction a commercial one, exposing both private owner and broker to the same obligations, and risks, as retailers.

Let us hope this idea is quietly ditched, as its adoption will undoubtedly make brokerage a somewhat more perilous occupation.

● A seminar on this subject will be held during the Southampton Boat Show on Monday September 17 at the De Vere Hotel.