Ship Lay-up Guide

This essential guide covers all aspects of a ship lay-up.

EU 180 Ship Recycling Seminar

The commercial and legal issues involved in selling ships for recycling are complex and far-reaching. The main concern is the safety of workers and the protection of the environment when ships are recycled, as well as ensuring that proper procedures are followed regarding worker rights and the further downstream management of hazardous and other wastes. The IMO Hong Kong Convention, which will enter into force in June 2025, and its accompanying guidelines, as well as the Basel Technical Guidelines on ship recycling, aim to ensure that ships are recycled in a safe and environmentally friendly manner. The HKC also requires that contracts between ship owners and recycling yards are in place before any recycling work is undertaken. Furthermore, certain legal requirements must be met in order for ships to be recycled, such as obtaining the necessary certificates and permits. Finally, the recycling process must be conducted in a manner that complies with international standards and conventions. Shipowners with ships flying the flag of an EU Member State face additional challenges of recycling those vessels in a manner that complies with regional legal requirements and environmental standards. This recycling can only occur at approved recycling facilities included in the EU list, leaving the shipowners with limited recycling options. As a result, those shipowners are facing additional difficulties, such as a ban on going to facilities in no-OECD States, even if any would be on the EU list, depending on the location of the ship when it becomes end of life. In an industry operating continuously at the global level, this creates major legal uncertainties and a serious distortion of competition between ships flying the flag of an EU Member State and other ships. Watch the BIMCO movie: “Ship recycling: Time for Change” https://www.bimco.org/trending-topics/recycling

SHIPSALE 22

SHIPSALE 22 is a standard Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for ship sale and purchase. It provides an innovative and comprehensive approach to sale and purchase agreements with clauses following the sequence of events as they play out in a sale and purchase transaction. Copyright in SHIPSALE 22 is held by BIMCO.

First ever standard contract for autonomous ship operation underway

BIMCO is adapting the currently used SHIPMAN 2009 agreement for use with autonomous ships, but the lack of actual autonomous ships currently in operation will mean ongoing adjustments as the industry forges ahead with its pioneering projects. Publication of the first version is expected in 2021.

Agency fees for tramp vessels

UN agencies issue urgent call for action on crew changes

The heads of the maritime, labour and aviation organizations of the United Nations have issued a plea for urgent action on crew changes and for keyworker designation to pave the way for sea and air workers to be relieved and repatriated safely during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cyber risk and autonomous ships

BIMCO has submitted four papers to the Maritime Safety Committee. The papers discuss how autonomous ships should be tried before they are allowed to operate, and that cyber risk management should be part of the ship’s Safety Management System.

BIMCO relaunch ship benchmarking system

BIMCO relaunches ship benchmarking system Shipping KPI after two years of redesign. The system helps shipowners and managers make strategic decisions about their fleet.

The Guidelines on Cyber Security Onboard Ships

Ships and shipping are vulnerable to cyber attacks so the industry joined forces and developed Guidelines on Cyber Security onboard Ships based on high-level principles

FONASBA Standard Liner and General Agency Agreement

The Standard Liner and General Agency Agreement was published by FONASBA (the Federation of National Associations of Ship Brokers and Agents) and approved by BIMCO in 2001. It is a contract between the liner principal and its agent and governs, for example, the obligations of and payments to the agent. The latest contract for long term agency agreements, published in 2017, can be found under the General Agency Agreement .