Standard term sheet and new agency agreement top Documentary Committee agenda

Overview

The Documentary Committee, under the chairmanship of Mr Francis Sarre, met in Copenhagen on 17 November in Copenhagen for its regular autumn meeting. Following two years’ intensive work involving owners, lawyers and financial institutions, a new Standard Term Sheet for Bilateral Financing was adopted.

This is an indicative set of terms and conditions establishing the basis for creating documentation required for ship financing arrangements.

Approval was given to a revised version of the HYDROCHARTER Voyage Charter Party. The amended document reflects contemporary commercial practice and legal developments and incorporates specialist and updated BIMCO clauses.

A new contact was adopted for the appointment of a ship’s agent for a “one-off” port call. The Agency Appointment Agreement has been devised in close cooperation with FONASBA. Work is now underway to draft a General Agency Agreement for the longer-term provision of services in defined areas or territories.

VIDEO: Francis Sarre talks about new standard documents adopted at the recent Documentary Committee meeting.

Consideration was given to a draft Redelivery Clause for Time Charter parties. However, with differing views on the content, discussion was deferred to a future meeting.

Specialist documents under development were reviewed including a new international contract for the provision of spill clean-up services and a parallel agreement for incidents occurring in US waters. Note was also taken of work to devise an offshore structure dismantling contract for the deconstruction and removal of oil rigs, wells and pipelines.

Reports were made on progress with charter party revisions to update SUPPLYTIME, BARECON and WORLDFOOD.

Work is underway on a new project to develop two escrow agreements respectively for sale and purchase transactions and security of claims.

The aftermath of the OW bankruptcy highlighted owners’ potential exposure to double payment for bunkers. A technical review of the BIMCO Terms 2015 Standard Bunker Contract is therefore being carried out to try to address this risk.

Three new projects were agreed. A syndicated loans agreement will be developed to complement the Term Sheet. The REPAIRCON form, issued in 2002, will be updated. In addition, a new clause will be devised to protect owners against the harsh consequences of market-inspired provisions where a ship is arrested or detained.

The next meeting of the Documentary Committee will take place in Rome on 6 June 2017.

Grant Hunter
in London,

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