BIMCO’s mission is to be at the forefront of global developments in shipping, providing expert knowledge and practical advice to safeguard and add value to our members’ businesses and our vision is to be the chosen partner trusted to provide leadership to the global shipping industry. 

BIMCO has NGO status with offices in Copenhagen, Singapore, Shanghai, Athens and London and our members range from the largest shipowners in the world to small local port agents and law firms.

As the largest direct entry shipping organisation with 1,900 members in 120 countries the BIMCO membership represents 60% of the world cargo fleet (measured by tonnage – the weight of the unloaded ships). Our ambition is to help build a resilient industry in a sustainable future whilst protecting world trade through helping manage the risk to our members, and therefore shipping, in a changing world.

Underpinning all we do is our relentless focus on our members, we support them by enabling a level playing field for shipping, delivering useful tools, information, and advice for the industry and by promoting standardisation and harmonisation.

To achieve our mission and reach our goals we utilise our three core strengths to help the shipping industry navigate to a sustainable future:

Delivering  Contracts, Clauses and Training

Our aim is to always be able to offer our members and the wider industry a standard BIMCO contract or clause that meets their commercial needs. BIMCO contracts are the most widely used in shipping and we plan to continually broaden our portfolio of more than 350 contracts and clauses. Digitalisation will become increasingly important as we develop the future design and distribution of our contracts. BIMCO offers a range of training courses providing knowledge and skills to support participants in their daily business.

Shaping practical regulations, standardisation and sharing knowledge

Our regulatory work supports our goals by providing the basis for transparent and non-discriminatory standards for the shipping industry (a level playing field). From our London office in close proximity to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) we use our technical voice in the international policy making arena. Reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions from shipping, together with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, set the strategic agenda of the IMO and we will provide expert advice in pursuit of feasible and practicable solutions. Safety and security are also high on our agenda as we drive the development of guidelines and standards that improve safety, security, and efficiency of shipping. Members can access comprehensive information about technical issues, security warnings, ice information, port information, cargo databases and the BIMCO Shipping KPI platform.

Expert Knowledge and Information

We offer expert advice and industry insight alongside facilitating opportunities for sharing knowledge and best practice. Members receive news and access to exclusive hands-on guides and a dedicated helpdesk for contractual issues. The BIMCO website contains a wealth of information dealing with the day-to-day operation of a shipping company, and our expert Shipping Market analysts offer unbiased and independent insight into the development of the shipping market.