Showing 1 - 10 of 200
Bunker fuel is a key element in the running of ships, and problems related to bunkers can massively impact daily operations. Information about bunker quality issues is of high value and BIMCO has therefore entered into a new cooperation with Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) who publishes regular Bunker Alerts based entirely on fuel samples.
Though much uncertainty remains, the immediate commodity price increases and supply challenges caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are likely to be felt throughout 2022. Also, recently implemented sanctions on Russia are not likely to be lifted any time soon. This may have sustained spill-over impact on the global economy.
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).
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.
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.
In October 2009 BIMCO initiated a project to develop a suite of standard bunker clauses for use in time charter parties. The rationale behind developing the suite is simply to address the ever increasing importance of bunker issues in time charter parties and the need to ensure that the risk of bunker disputes is minimised by clearly worded clauses that reflect legislative developments. The Suite of Clauses was adopted by BIMCO’s Documentary Committee at its meeting in Vancouver in June 2011. The Suite provides clauses covering matters relating to delivery/redelivery bunkers; bunkering operations; sampling; fuel testing programmes; and ECA trading, all of which are matters that are frequently absent from or insufficient in many standard time charter parties. Many older time charter forms contain bunker clauses covering the fundamental principles under the charter, but simply do not contemplate today’s situation where vessels are required to carry and use several grades of fuel and where sampling and testing regimes are an integral part of the process.
This clause was published on 19 May 1981.
