BIMCO Search Results

06 October 2021

The trade war continues to rage in the shade of the headline-grabbing supply chain disruptions. The tariffs are still in place and are unlikely to go anywhere despite the change of administration in the United States.

Market analysis

VPS Bunker Alerts

16 August 2021

Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) publish regular Bunker Alerts based entirely on fuel samples. The bunker samples are analysed by VPS whenever a short-term quality issue is identified in a specific port or region.

Sierra Leone to implement IMO 2020 penalties for non-compliant fuel

12 August 2021

From 1 September 2021, ship owners and operators calling at ports in Sierra Leone risk penalties of up to USD 15,000 if they carry fuel with a sulphur content exceeding 0.5 percent. Ships or members experiencing problems related to enforcement of MARPOL Annex V or unavailability of compliant fuel are encouraged to inform BIMCO via email hsse@bimco.org with “IMO 2020” in the subject field.

IMO Legal Committee agrees unified interpretation on limitation of liability

10 August 2021

At its meeting held from 26 to 30 July 2021, the Legal Committee (LEG) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) agreed on a unified interpretation of the test for breaking a shipowner’s right to limit liability under certain IMO conventions. The committee also considered several other issues relating to the abandonment of seafarers, to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) and to the committee’s future work programme.

AIS Switch Off Clause 2021

16 July 2021

AIS manipulation is one tool used by parties to evade sanctions. This clause addresses this issue and is part of the BIMCO suite of sanctions clauses. It is intended to be part of a company’s sanctions compliance due diligence programme. Although the continuous operation of a ship’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) is mandatory under SOLAS, there are circumstances where it may be legitimately be switched off. The purpose of the clause is to ensure that when this is done legitimately, it does not give rise to termination rights and ensures a balance of the rights and responsibilities between owners and charterers in preventing AIS manipulation to evade sanctions.