CO2TIME is taking shape

Published: 02 December 2024

Drafting work to develop the new BIMCO time charter party for the transportation of carbon dioxide (CO2) continued on 26 and 27 November when the subcommittee in charge of the project met at the offices of the UK P&I Club in London. The new contract will be relevant for the carbon capture and storage (CCS) market that is emerging as part of global efforts to combat climate change.

The subcommittee is drafting on the basis of GASTIME, BIMCO’s standard time charter party for ships carrying liquefied gas, which is being substantially updated and adapted to address the technical, commercial, insurance and regulatory considerations associated with CO2 transport.

Discussions at this week’s meeting focused on vetting, drydocking and insurance – areas which will be particularly important for the trade involving specialised tankers able to collect and transport CO2 due to the unique characteristics of the cargo being transported and the complexities of determining the potential implications of the release of the cargo.

“Transport of CO2 is still in its infancy and we therefore want to develop a comprehensive, flexible, easily understandable and balanced form which will assist both new and more experienced market players,” says Marcus Dodds of Capital Group who leads the drafting team.

In addition to Capital Group, the expert team developing the new form includes representatives from Navigator Gas (John Reay), Ineos (Jocelyn Harriman), Orlen Trading (Marceli Marczyński), Babcock (Martin Halcrow), Clarksons (Tommy Baggio and Elwin Taylor), Wikborg Rein (Andreas Fjærvoll-Larsen), Skuld P&I Club (Krester K. Kjær and Peter Hazell) and UK P&I Club (Mark Rudd).

The subcommittee will be meeting again in January to continue the drafting of the charter party. The target date for adoption is late 2025/early 2026, in time for the first commercial projects expected to be launched in 2028-2030. If you want to be part of the industry sounding board that will receive the draft once prepared by the drafting team (expected in Q2/2025), contact the Contracts & Clauses team at contracts@bimco.org

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