Liam Payne has posed naked

The 'Story of My Life' hitmaker is seen standing on the deck of the boat with his arms and legs spread wide while his modesty was protected by a touch of photo editing which saw his private parts blurred out of the image.

While his loyal fans - affectionately known as Directioners - demanded to know where his trunks were, Liam captioned the snap: "Damn that was my last pair!"

The 20-year-old star - whose bandmates Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan appeared to be absent from the trip - posted the photograph from an unknown location just days after topless pictures of him relaxing in the sun by a swimming pool in the Spanish city of Madrid emerged.

One Direction recently finished the European leg of their 'Where We Are' world tour and it appears Liam is making the most of his well-deserved time off before they reunite for their upcoming shows in Canada and the United States, which kick off next month in Toronto.