With a view to promoting energy efficiency and sustainability in the maritime industry, the Energy Efficiency Data Sharing Clause for Time Charter Parties provides a balanced framework for owners and charterers to collaborate to improve data sharing practices by the use of sensors onboard or to be installed on vessels.
A key aspect of the clause is that the charterers have the right to make use of sensors on board the vessel and, subject to the owners' agreement, have the right to install sensors onboard the vessel at any time during the charter party period. Together with sensors already installed on the vessel, these sensors are intended to collect data, which may be used for performance monitoring, operational efficiency measures, and other energy efficiency purposes. The clause further stipulates that sensors installed on the vessel are considered part of the vessel's equipment, which is important for insurance purposes as they would be covered under the owners’ insurance.
BIMCO Energy Efficiency Data Sharing Clause for Time Charter Parties 2025
Notwithstanding any other provision in this Charter Party, the Owners and the Charterers (together the "Parties" and each a “Party”) agree as follows:
“Cyber Security Incident” means the loss or unauthorised destruction, alteration, disclosure of, access to, or control of Data.
"Data” means the information generated by and transferred from the Sensors.
“Sensors” means any sensors already installed onboard the Vessel to which the Owners have agreed the Charterers may have access as specified in Annex l to this Clause or any additional sensors as specified in Annex l to this Clause and installed pursuant to subclause (b).
(a) The Parties shall have the right to make use of Sensors during the period of this Charter Party. Any additional transmission costs shall be for the Charterers account.
(b) The Charterers can require the Owners to purchase or lease and install, in Owners’ name and for Owners’ benefit, any additional sensors, as specified in Annex l to this Clause, onboard the Vessel at any time during the Charter Party period. Such additional sensors are subject to approval from the Vessel’s classification society and flag state administration and shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Once installed, these Sensors shall form part of the Vessel’s equipment.
(c) If Sensors are installed onboard the Vessel pursuant to subclause (b), all time and costs associated with their purchase, lease, installation, use, subscription, calibration, maintenance, repair and reinstallation shall be borne by the Owners and the Charterers in the following percentage: [x%] time and [x%] costs for Owners’ account with the remainder for the Charterers’ account for the period of this Charter Party. If no percentage is specified, all time and costs are to be for the Charterers’ account for the period of this Charter Party. If specified in Annex l to this Clause that any Sensor is to be removed at the end of the Charter Party period, all time and costs associated with such removal shall be for the Charterers’ account.
(d) The Owners shall use their reasonable endeavours to minimise any disruption to the Vessel's operations caused by the installation, calibration, use, maintenance and/or reinstallation of Sensors installed pursuant to subclause (b).
(e) Owners shall properly maintain and calibrate the Sensors in accordance with manufacturers’ requirements during the period of this Charter Party.
(f) The Parties shall specify in Annex l to this Clause the source, frequency, type, and destination of the Data.
(g) The Owners grant the Charterers, their affiliates and appointees the right to collect, use and continue to use the Data for monitoring, verifying and optimising the Vessel and fleet performance overall, and other similar energy efficiency purposes and for data verification.
(h) The Owners grant the Charterers and their appointees the right to share the Data with their sub-charterers or sub-charterers’ appointees mandated to process the Data subject to the Owners’ approval which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
(i) Each Party shall ensure that any collection, sharing and use of the Data undertaken by the Party shall comply with all laws and regulations applicable to the processing of the Data by said Party, including but not limited to, cyber security, data sharing and data protection/privacy laws.
(j) Each Party shall implement reasonable information security measures to ensure the confidentiality of the Data as per subclause (l) below and shall take all reasonable steps to protect the Data from a Cyber Security Incident. In case of a Cyber Security Incident, the Party who becomes aware of such incident shall promptly notify the other Party, and both Parties shall promptly take all steps reasonably necessary to mitigate and prevent any effects of such incident. Each Party shall comply with any applicable legal obligation upon the Party to notify a Cyber Security Incident to the authorities.
(k) This subclause (k) shall apply unless the Parties state “No” here: [ ].
The Charterers expressly waive any right to use the Data as a basis for or in support of a claim against the Owners regarding any off-hire period for the Vessel and/or existing warranties as to speed and consumption in the Charter Party and/or the termination of the Charter Party. This waiver is not applicable in the event of gross negligence or wilful misconduct by the Owners.
(l) Save as expressly allowed in subclause (g), the Charterers shall keep the Data confidential and shall not disclose such Data without the prior written consent of the Owners. However, the Charterers may disclose the Data to its affiliates, agents, applicable competent authority, court, tribunal or government, subcontractors and/or professional advisors for legal or compliance purposes and also to cargo interests, provided that the Data so disclosed to them shall be treated as confidential, and/or is anonymised, except in the case of required disclosure to an applicable competent authority, court, tribunal or government.
Annex I
Note: the sensor types and associated information included in the following two tables is intended for illustration only. The parties should consider which ones are relevant for the particular charter party.
Sensors already onboard
|
Source |
Type |
|
|
Notes |
|||
|
Sensor |
Sensor Type |
IMO Data Number |
Data element |
Format |
Units |
Data type1 |
|
|
|
Speed log or equivalent |
IMO0616 |
Speed through water |
n.. 4,2 |
knots |
A |
|
|
|
GPS |
IMO0333
|
Speed over ground |
n.. 4,2 |
knots |
A |
|
|
|
IMO0603 |
Date & Time (UTC) |
an..35 |
YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss |
I |
|
|
|
|
IMO0601 |
Latitude |
an..10 |
|
I |
|
|
|
|
IMO0602 |
Longitude |
an.11 |
|
I |
|
|
|
|
Gyrocompass |
IMO0620 |
Heading (true) |
n.. 4,1 |
Degrees (true) |
A |
|
|
|
Echo sounder |
|
Water depth (under keel) |
n..4,1 |
metres |
A |
|
|
|
Anemometer |
|
Relative wind direction |
n..3 |
degrees (relative to bow) |
A |
|
|
|
|
Relative wind speed |
n..4,1 |
knots |
A |
|
|
|
|
Shaft Torque Meter |
|
Propeller Shaft Power |
n..7,1 |
kilowatts |
A |
|
|
|
RPM |
IMO0617 |
Propeller Shaft RPM |
n.. 4,1 |
rpm |
A |
|
|
|
Draft sensors or calculated via loading computer |
IMO0621 |
Draught forward |
n.. 4,2 |
metres |
A |
Static drafts (not dynamic) to be provided. Where online draft sensors are not installed, inputs calculated from loading computer can be used. |
|
|
IMO0622 |
Draught aft |
n.. 4,2 |
metres |
A |
||
|
|
Fuel flow sensor (preferably mass flow, optionally volumetric) |
|
M/E fuel consumption rate |
n..5,2 |
metric tonnes/day |
A |
|
|
|
D/G fuel consumption rate |
n..5,2 |
metric tonnes/day |
A |
|
||
|
|
Aux boiler consumption rate |
n..5,2 |
metric tonnes/day |
A |
|
||
|
|
Manual input |
IMO0654 |
Fuel type, coded |
an.. |
|
A |
According to IMO standard code list. To be provided separately for each fuel consumption measurement reported |
|
|
Manual input |
IMO0659 |
Fuel density |
n..5,3 |
metric tonnes per cubic metre |
A |
To be provided separately for each fuel consumption measurement reported. Mandatory for volumetric flow meter; optional for mass flow meters |
|
|
Thermometer |
|
Fuel temperature |
|
degrees celsius |
A |
To be provided separately for each fuel consumption measurement reported. Mandatory for volumetric flow meter; optional for mass flow meters |
|
|
Manual input or estimated |
IMO0664 |
Fuel, lower heating value |
n..5,3 |
MJ/kg |
A |
To be provided separately for each fuel consumption measurement reported. May be estimated from measurements of density and temperature etc if mutually agreed. |
Additional sensors
|
Source |
Type |
|
|
Notes |
Remove |
|||
|
Sensor |
Sensor Type |
IMO Data Number |
Data element |
Format |
Units |
Data type1 |
|
(Y/N) |
|
|
Wave measuring device |
|
Various wave characteristics e.g. significant wave height, height/period/direction of primary and secondary wave trains etc… |
|
|
|
Exact details to be agreed case-by-case depending on technology provided |
|
|
|
Motions sensor |
|
Ship motions in 1-6 degrees of freedom. E.g. amplitudes, periods, etc… |
|
|
|
Exact details to be agreed case-by-case depending on degrees of freedom and use-case. |
|
|
|
Electrical power meter |
|
Generator engines output/load |
n..5 |
kilowatts (ekW) |
A |
Either per generator engine or total – to be agreed case-by-case. Shaft generators to be measured and reported separately in all cases. |
|
|
|
Thermometer |
IMO0628 |
Air temperature |
n..3,1 |
degrees celsius |
A |
|
|
|
|
Thermometer |
|
Sea water temperature |
n..3,1 |
degrees celsius |
A |
|
|
|
|
Barometer |
IMO0629 |
Atmospheric pressure |
N6 |
hPa |
A |
|
|
|
|
GPS |
IMO0332 |
Course over Ground (true) |
n..4,1 |
degrees (true) |
A |
|
|
General data specifications:
|
Item |
Specification |
|
Reporting frequency |
All values to be reported at [1 minute] intervals. Refer to the “Frequency type” column for details of whether this should be average, total or instantaneous values. For manual input data and data where the values change only occasionally, the values need not be input or updated at the specified frequency, but should be reported at the specified frequency to ensure that all data is synchronised. |
|
Sampling frequency |
Data from online sensors should be sampled at a minimum of [1Hz] consistent with VDR data standards, and then processed onboard to provide the reported values at reporting frequency. |
|
Reported data |
As a minimum, the data specified in the “data type” column should be reported at the reporting frequency (e.g. average, total or instant values). It is [recommended/required] that additionally min, max and standard deviation is reported at the reporting frequency. |
|
Transmission frequency |
All data shall be transmitted from the ship to the Parties [daily]. |
|
Transmission destination |
The data shall be automatically [emailed to ship_data@charterer.com using the file name shipname_yyyymmdd.csv according to format specified in xxxxx] / [available via secure API according to the details specified in xxxxx] |
Notes: Data type: A = average; T = total; I = instant. For example, for Speed through water, the value transmitted should be the average speed obtained over the reporting interval
Drafting Team
The Energy Efficiency Data Sharing Clause for Time Charter Parties 2025 is the result of a collaborative and consensual process between owners, charterers, P&I Clubs and other stakeholders working to promote the green transition. BIMCO is grateful to the drafting team for their considerable time, effort and commitment in producing the Energy Efficiency Data Sharing Clause for Time Charter Parties 2025:
- Mattias Kjellberg, Stena Rederi (Chairperson)
- Sanjay Relan, Pacific Basin
- Giannis Webster, Costamare
- Heather Johnson, Chevron
- Ann Shazell and Keith Dawe, Cargill
- Helen Barden and Joanna Meadows, NorthStandard P&I Club
BIMCO Secretariat:
- Carl Wilhelm Lindahl, Contracts & Clauses
- Christian Hoppe, Contracts & Clauses
- Indu Chitran, Contracts & Clauses
As part of the development work, the subcommittee consulted a group of stakeholders engaged in shipping and decarbonisation. BIMCO would like to thank them all for their support and valuable input to the process.
Explanatory Notes
These explanatory notes are intended to provide an insight into the thinking behind the Energy Efficiency Data Sharing Clause for Time Charter Parties 2025. They also explain how the clause is intended to operate and the allocation of responsibilities and costs between the parties. If you have any questions about the clause, please contact us at contracts@bimco.org and we will be happy to assist.
Key Features of the Clause
To be noted that the Energy Efficiency Data Sharing Clause for Time Charter Parties 2025 is intended to cover one way data transfer from ship to shore. If two-way data transfer is contemplated, then the cyber security provisions and measures (in particular subclauses (i) and (j)) would have to be reconsidered.
The parties should be aware of subclause (k), in which they have the flexibility to elect that this particular subclause should not apply.
It is also worth noting that this clause is accompanied by an annex which the parties should take great care in filling in as it will determine which sensors will be covered by the clause, as well as if these sensors are to be removed at the end of the charter party period.
Definitions
Cyber security – The definition has been carried over from the BIMCO Cyber Security Clause 2019 with logical amendments.
Data – The definition is deliberately broad to ensure that all information generated by and transferred from the sensors is covered.
Sensors – The definition of “Sensors” is intended to clarify that the sensors concerned by the clause are those already onboard which the owners have agreed charterers may have access to as well as those which the charterers have requested to be installed pursuant to subclause (b). In both cases, the clauses should be listed in the annex.
Subclause (a)
Subclause (a) outlines the right of the parties to use sensors during the charter party period. It specifies that any additional transmission costs will be borne by the charterers. These additional transmissions costs are intended to cover expenses associated with use of extra bandwidth to transmit data resulting from charterers’ request which could for example be due to higher frequency or transmission of larger data volume.
Subclause (b)
This subclause allows charterers to require owners to purchase or lease and install additional sensors on the vessel during the charter party period. Such sensors need to be specified in Annex I, be approved by the vessel’s classification society and flag state administration and comply with all applicable laws and regulations. It is specified that, once installed, these sensors become part of the vessel’s equipment meaning that the owners take on the usual obligations, such as insurance.
Subclause (c)
Subclause (c) specifies that if sensors are installed onboard the vessel pursuant to subclause (b), all time and costs associated with their purchase, lease, installation, use, subscription, calibration, maintenance, repair, and reinstallation shall be borne by the owners and the charterers in the specified percentage. If no percentage is specified, all time and costs are to be for the charterers' account for the period of the charter party. If sensors are removed at the end of the charter party period, all expenses associated with such removal will be borne by the charterers.
While it was considered reasonable to have a division of costs in relation to installation and maintenance a similar division was not considered appropriate if the charterers elected to remove the sensors. The rationale being that owners will no longer be able to benefit from the sensors.
Subclause (d)
Subclause (d) requires owners to use their reasonable endeavours to minimise any disruption to the vessel's operations caused by the installation, calibration, use, maintenance, and/or reinstallation of the additional sensors installed at the charterers’ request pursuant to subclause (b). This obligation does not apply to sensors already onboard the vessel as the owners would already be so obliged.
Subclause (e)
Subclause (e) requires owners to properly maintain and calibrate the sensors in accordance with manufacturers' requirements during the period of the charter party to ensure data accuracy as sensors are known to drift over a period of time.
Subclause (f)
Subclause (f) requires the parties to specify the source, frequency, type, and destination of the data in the annex.
Subclause (g)
Subclause (g) grants the charterers, their affiliates, and appointees the right to collect, use, and continue to use the data for monitoring, verifying and optimising the vessel and fleet performance overall, as well as for other similar energy efficiency purposes and data verification.
The language “continue to use” is intended to clarify that charterers, their affiliates, and appointees have the right to use the data collected after the expiry of the charter party for purposes of vessel and fleet optimisation. The reason being that data collected will form basis for future modelling which would be unreliable if data were to be removed.
Affiliates and appointees are intended to cover third party service providers that assist charterers in processing the data to optimise the vessel and fleet performance.
Subclause (h)
Both the owners and the charterers, and their appointees, have the right to collect data from the sensors for the purposes stipulated in the clause. However, to ensure operational flexibility the charterers have the right to share the data with their sub-charterers or sub-charterers' appointee, subject to owners' approval.
For clarity, the owners’ approval is in respect to the service provider and not the manner in which the service is provided.
Subclause (i)
Subclause (i) requires each party to ensure that any collection, sharing, and use of the data complies with all applicable laws and regulations, including those related to cyber security, data sharing, and data protection/privacy.
In case of such a cyber security incident, the party who becomes aware of it must promptly notify the other party, and both parties must take necessary steps to minimise and/or prevent any effects of the incident.
The obligations have been spelt out explicitly so that each party ensures compliance with laws applicable to its own processing of the data.
Subclause (j)
This subclause sets out an obligation on each party to implement reasonable information security measures to protect the data and promptly notify the other party in case of a cyber security incident. Both parties must take necessary steps to mitigate the incident and comply with legal obligations to notify authorities.
Subclause (k)
This subclause shall apply unless the parties state “No” in the appropriate box.
The default position limits the charterers' use of the data as a basis for claims against the owners regarding any off-hire period for the vessel, existing warranties, or the termination of the charter party. The rationale being that the owners are granting the charterers access to information they would not typically have, thereby allowing them to improve their operations. In return, the owners receive protection against the potential use of such data in claims potentially raised by the charterers.
The provision is not applicable in cases of gross negligence or wilful misconduct by the owners.
Subclause (l)
Subclause (l) requires the charterers to keep the data confidential and not disclose it without the owners' prior written consent, except to specified parties for legal and compliance purposes and cargo interests provided that the data is treated as confidential or anonymised. The reason for allowing data to be shared with cargo interests is for them to be able to comply with their reporting obligations, for example sustainability reporting.
Annex I
Mindful of the importance of setting out the details of the sensors onboard or to be installed, which are key aspects of the clause, the subcommittee developed an annex consisting of two separate tables to reflect the distinction between sensors already onboard and additional sensors. The tables were divided into sections reflecting the information referred to in subclause (e), namely the source, frequency, type and destination of the data.
In line with subclause (e), the table concerning additional sensors includes a row enabling the parties to specify if the sensors should be removed at the end of the charter party period.
In both tables, examples of type, data element and format would be provided in italics, e.g. “Speed over ground” to guide the parties. Please note that the information pre-populated in greyed-out italics in both tables is for guidance only, illustrating how the annex should be filled in.