At the meeting, members had a general exchange of views about the project, focusing on the feasibility of developing a syndicated form, which would be useful to borrowers and lenders and have a genuine possibility of gaining acceptance in the market. The subcommittee believed it would be useful to carry out more research to clarify these issues, notably in Asia, and therefore more research will be done in the coming months.

The subcommittee had a preliminary discussion on a number of more substantial issues that would have to be considered in relation to a syndicated form. A report of the findings will be presented to the Documentary Committee at its meeting on 6 June in Rome.

The syndicated term sheet is considered by a specialist subcommittee composed of the following representatives of shipowners, banks and lawyers:

• Francis Sarre, Compagnie Maritime Belge (chairperson)
• Christopher Conway, Citi
• David Lan, Industrial and Commercial bank of China
• Gonzague Archambeaud, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs
• Julien Pierret, HSBC
• Klaus Vilstrup, Dampskibsselskabet NORDEN
• Leif H. Spørck, DNB
• Liv Hege Dyrnes, AS Klaveness Chartering
• Matt Hannaford, Hannaford Turner LLP
• Mike Vernell, Watson Farley & Williams LLP
• Nick Fell, BW Group
• Olga Petrovic, Linklaters LLP
• Robin Bencard, shipping and structured asset financing consultant
• Vasilis Papagiannopoulos, Common Progress
• Xavier Riffaud, INGEPAR
  
  

A seminar on SHIPTERM, BIMCO’s new standard term sheet for bilateral ship financing transactions, was held back-to-back with the meeting at the London based law firm Watson Farley & Williams. The seminar was attended by 60 representatives of shipowners, banks and lawyers.

At the seminar, a general introduction was made by BIMCO’s Deputy Secretary General Søren Larsen, who explained the background for the term sheet project and why BIMCO had decided to develop a standard ship financing document. Following this, four members of the subcommittee that developed SHIPTERM, introduced and explained the new standard, its form and substance, and responded to questions from the floor. The panelists were:

• Francis Sarre, Compagnie Maritime Belge
• Christopher Conway, Citi
• Klaus Vilstrup, Dampskibsselskabet NORDEN
• Mike Vernell, Watson Farley & Williams LLP
  
  

Key features were addressed, including the indicative/non-binding nature of the term sheet and issues relating to governing law and jurisdiction. Focus was also on the level of detail of the term sheet, financial covenants, and negative base rate scenarios. A networking reception followed the seminar.

Other seminars will be held during 2017, including in Singapore, Hong Kong, and New York. More information about these seminars will be made available soon on the BIMCO website.

More information about SHIPTERM as well as a sample copy of the new standard is now available. You can also view the webinar that was held on 27 January, at which a panel of four representatives of the subcommittee that developed SHIPTERM introduced the term sheet, its background and content.