Showing 1 - 10 of 200
BIMCO has co-sponsored a proposal at the 43 rd session of the Facilitation Committee (FAL 43) held at the IMO Headquarters on 8-12 April, putting anti-corruption formally on the IMO agenda going forward.
With sanctions imposed on Russian interests by the EU, UK, US and others, it is crucial that shipowners and operators check their counterparts and contracts immediately. The situation is currently changing rapidly, and more sanctions announcements could be on the way.
This short guide highlights some of the key issues that may affect the obligations and rights of contracting parties following developments in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, with a focus on BIMCO clauses. In all circumstances, parties should carefully review their contractual terms for current and future fixtures and, if in any doubt, seek legal advice before acting.
The sanctions landscape has grown increasingly complex since BIMCO published its Sanctions Clause for Time Charter Parties in 2010. International sanctions regimes are constantly changing with new restrictions being added and new persons and entities being listed. A violation of sanctions restrictions can have severe consequences and in the worst cases can lead to parties being listed as sanctioned parties. Therefore, carefully worded sanctions clauses in charter parties and other contracts are vital for internationally trading companies to help them manage and mitigate their sanctions risk and to enable them to continue to do business while remaining compliant with the various sanctions regimes. This clause is intended for use in all trades except for container trades. A separate sanctions clause for the container trades is under development. This clause was published on 19 December 2019. It replaces the Sanctions Clause for Time Charter Parties 2010 and the Designated Entities Clause for Charter Parties 2013 (which have been combined to make a new single clause for ease of incorporation).
This short guide highlights some of the key issues that may affect the obligations and rights of contracting parties following developments in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, with a focus on BIMCO clauses. In all circumstances, parties should carefully review their contractual terms for current and future fixtures and, if in any doubt, seek legal advice before acting.
With sanctions imposed on Russian interests by the EU, UK, US and others, it is crucial that shipowners and operators check their counterparts and contracts immediately. The situation is currently changing rapidly, and more sanctions announcements could be on the way.
BIMCO, the world’s largest international shipping organisation, has now launched an anti-corruption clause for charter parties. The new clause will give owners and charterers a contractual platform for cooperative action to resist demands for illegal payments from port officials and others.
The Anti-Corruption Clause for Charter Parties 2015 provides market users with a regime for responding to unlawful demands for gifts in cash or kind, such as cigarettes or alcohol. It is designed for use in both voyage and time charters and sets out a series of steps with the contracting parties working together to resist such demands but if this fails, owners’ rights to hire or uninterrupted laytime and demurrage are protected. Termination, by either party, is the ultimate sanction but a high threshold has been set so that it cannot be easily used as an exit from an inconvenient charter. This clause was published on 7 December 2015.
The Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) has recently launched a survey concerning corrupt practices in Ukraine. Such practices may take many forms e.g. demands for facilitation payments (low level payments paid to low level government officials to complete routine tasks the company is entitled to), cash payments or in kind requests made by various port authorities.
BIMCO's position has been approved by the BIMCO Board of Directors.
