The Barcelona Charter, in full the European Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Traditional Ships in Operation is an informal but widely accepted standard for maintenance and restoration projects on historic watercraft that are still in operation as active sailing vessels.
Only a small number of them are registered monuments or real museum ships, while nearly all of them have a certain historic or cultural value in the context of maritime or regional history.
The wide majority of historic watercraft are owned and operated by private owners, associations, foundations etc.
The original text of the Charter was written in English, but unofficial translations are available for a number of European languages (Catalan, Dutch, French, German and Portuguese).
[1] Although the Barcelona Charter is not a binding legal instrument, it is widely accepted as a code of best practice and is recognized by several European marine safety authorities as well as national owner organizations of historic watercraft.