ASBAGASVOY charter aims to be first choice for gas trade

Overview

Feedback from the gas industry on the draft ASBAGASVOY charter party shows that ASBA and BIMCO, who are working together to develop the new contract, are on the right track. The view is supported by BIMCO’s Documentary Committee.

When the Documentary Committee met in Copenhagen on 5 December, a report was made about the work to develop the charter party, which has been codenamed ASBAGASVOY, and the recent consultation of selected gas tanker owners, operators, charterers and brokers aimed at determining if work is heading in the right direction.

“The input we have received so far is generally supportive of the project and the approach we have chosen in the subcommittee,” said Magne Andersen from Nordisk Legal Services, who is member of the subcommittee developing ASBAGASVOY and of the Documentary Committee, adding:

“We have an ambition to create the preferred charter party for the gas tanker industry, and it is therefore extremely important for us to get views from the potential users of ASBAGASVOY, in order to develop a form that meets their needs and expectations,” Andersen said.

One of the key points in the consultation concerns whether ASBAGASVOY should stay as close as possible to ASBATANKVOY, the widely used tanker charter party on which the new form will be based. A related point is whether additional clauses, which are often added when ASBATANKVOY is adapted and used for gas tankers, should be included in the printed form.

Feedback received until now shows strong support for maintaining the form short and as close as possible to ASBATANKVOY, with any additional clauses to be included in a separate document, which would not as such form part of the new charter party.

The subcommittee is co-chaired by Søren Wolmar (Quincannon) and Stephen Harper (BW Group), representing ASBA and BIMCO respectively, and includes Tommy Baggio (Clarksons), Elwin Taylor (Petredec) and Sumit Madhu (Thomas Miller P&I (Europe) Ltd.).

ASBA has also reviewed the draft recently and is pleased with the progress on ASBAGASVOY. The subcommittee will continue working on the draft at its upcoming meeting on 24 February in Oslo, during which the feedback received will also be discussed. A wider industry consultation will be held in spring 2020.

Christian Hoppe
in Copenhagen, DK

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