World News
Charterers be Careful, says Maritime Lawyer
Charterers as well as shipowners should be extra vigilant in the aftermath of the 'bad bunkers' incidents which plagued the shipping and bunker industries earlier this year, a maritime lawyer has said.
While extra testing on fuel properties is advisable, tests are not infallible because, as yet, there is no set standard across testing agencies, Toby Stephens, head of shipping Singapore at law firm HFW, told Ship & Bunker.
At the same time, if clauses are removed from contracts to protect either party (the buyer or seller of the bunker fuel), the end result could be a large bill if, in the event, the bunker fuel oil is off-specification (off-spec).
Stephens, who is also part of HFW's global crisis management team, said charterers, in particular, should take extra care with their contracts.
"Time charterers want their charter party to be back-to-back with their bunker supply contract," Stephens said.
"It's worth taking extra care to make sure this is the case," he said, adding that including requirements for additional testing of bunker fuel pending any amendment to the current ISO standard is worth considering.
Off-spec bunker fuel first appeared in Houston in July this year to later resurface in Singapore.
Shipowners' organisation BIMCO has also spoken about the need for owners to be wary of charterers using non-compliant or incomptabile fuel from the start of 2020.
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 647.00 | 8.50 | 779.00 | 29.50 |
| Rotterdam | 608.00 | 11.00 | 764.50 | 24.50 |
| Houston | 636.50 | 8.00 | 807.50 | 5.00 |
| Fujairah | 649.50 | 4.00 | 888.50 | 11.50 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 665.50 | 6.50 | 870.50 | 14.50 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 635.50 | 3.50 | 810.00 | 17.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 725.00 | 2.50 | 925.50 | 8.00 |
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