Boat half removed by hooligan — it may have been chartered (7)
I believe the answer is:
borough
'it may have been chartered' is the definition.
(ancient boroughs were established by charter)
'boat half removed by hooligan' is the wordplay.
'half removed' indicates taking half.
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'hooligan' becomes 'rough' (I've seen this before).
'boat' cut in half is 'bo'.
'bo'+'rough'='BOROUGH'
(Other definitions for borough that I've seen before include "Local district" , "Administrative unit in a city, Dun Laoghaire in Dublin, say" , "London district" , "Administrative area" , "Town with a corporation and special privileges" .)