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Technical, regulatory and financial aspects of the 2020 global fuel sulphur cap regime understandably loom large in people’s minds. But the importance of the contractual dimension should not be overlooked. BIMCO is forging ahead with an all-encompassing 2020 Clause for charter parties, which should be published in November.
BIMCO’s documentary experts have begun preparing charter party clauses to assist owners and charterers comply with complex new carbon regulations due to come into force in 2023.
New regulation from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which will require existing ships to reduce carbon emissions, is due to enter into force in just under one year. As compliance will benefit to a large extent from co-operation between shipowners and charterers, BIMCO has developed a new clause to address the changes.
A new standard Cyber Security Clause requiring the parties to implement cyber security procedures and systems to help reduce the risk of an incident, is now available from the BIMCO website.
In October 2009 BIMCO initiated a project to develop a suite of standard bunker clauses for use in time charter parties. The rationale behind developing the suite is simply to address the ever increasing importance of bunker issues in time charter parties and the need to ensure that the risk of bunker disputes is minimised by clearly worded clauses that reflect legislative developments. The Suite of Clauses was adopted by BIMCO’s Documentary Committee at its meeting in Vancouver in June 2011. The Suite provides clauses covering matters relating to delivery/redelivery bunkers; bunkering operations; sampling; fuel testing programmes; and ECA trading, all of which are matters that are frequently absent from or insufficient in many standard time charter parties. Many older time charter forms contain bunker clauses covering the fundamental principles under the charter, but simply do not contemplate today’s situation where vessels are required to carry and use several grades of fuel and where sampling and testing regimes are an integral part of the process.
On 1 January 2023, the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) regime under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) in the form of Resolution MEPC 328(76) (together with associated guidelines) (hereinafter "the MARPOL Carbon Intensity Regulations") entered into effect, applying to ships of more than 5,000 gross tons. The CII Clause for Voyage Charter Parties is broadly in line with the original BIMCO Slow Steaming Clause for Voyage Charter Parties 2012 maintaining some of the wording from that clause and catering specifically for the MARPOL Carbon Intensity Regulations. In essence, this clause enables the parties to agree to an adjustment of the vessel's course and/or speed or RPM in line with specified parameters as a tool to assist the parties in complying with the MARPOL Carbon Intensity Regulations.
Following on from our recent 15+15 webinar " Navigating EU ETS in contracts " which provided an overview of the available BIMCO clauses on emission trading schemes and how to understand the difference between various contractual solutions (you can watch the recording here ). This 15+15 webinar will look at the status of the three first months with EU ETS clauses - and what is ahead with BIMCO's Deputy Secretary General, Stinne Taiger Ivø. Find out more about BIMCO's four ETS Clauses Want to learn more about the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and how it affects the operation of ships trading to EU ports? Register for one of our online training courses .
In November 1998, BIMCO was approached by the European Community Shipowners’ Association (ECSA) to discuss the possibility of developing a Recommended Quality Clause that would encourage the practical implementation of the European Shippers Council (ESC) “Voluntary Code of Best Practice”. The ESC’s Code was published as a self-regulatory measure in support of the European Community’s Quality Shipping Campaign. In recognition of BIMCO’s role as the shipping industry’s lead organisation in the development of standard clauses, ECSA and ESC felt that BIMCO was the most appropriate body to produce such a clause. As a signatory of the Maritime Industry Charter on Quality, BIMCO was keen to demonstrate its support for the initiative to promote a quality culture throughout the industry by all participants. Of paramount importance to BIMCO was to ensure that by developing a Standard Quality Clause for the industry, the risk of a proliferation of charterer-inspired quality-related clauses was kept to a minimum.
