Asia/Pacific News
BIMCO: Singapore Shipping Association Providing Input as Standard Bunker Contract Moves Forward
The Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) is incorporating comments from its documentary committee and the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) as it continues to develop its new standard bunker contract, industry news site Marine Link reports.
BIMCO met with the SSA earlier this year, and the Singapore group has formed its own committee to examine the contract, resulting in suggestions for the new draft.
BIMCO has now amended its draft contract in several ways.
The new version increases the minimum number of fuel samples from four to five, with one sample being retained for MARPOL purposes, while the sellers and the vessel each receive two.
New wording also includes more flexibility in the sampling point to accommodate varying practices in different parts of the world, as well as procedures for situations where local bunker practice rules are mandatory, as with Singapore's Standard Code of Practice for Bunkering, SS600.
Other changes include a clarification of the stages involved in the contract's claim process, setting timelines for an initial protest, a notification that a buyer intends to proceed with a claim, and the initiation of arbitration proceedings.
BIMCO will continue working on the contract over the summer and plans to present it to the documentary committee in November.
The group has said the new contract is intended to harmonise language used in contracts in different parts of the world.
