BIMCO REVISES ICE CLAUSES FOR VOYAGE CHARTER PARTIES

BIMCO REVISES ICE CLAUSES FOR VOYAGE CHARTER PARTIES    BIMCO, a private association of shipping companies that represent 65 percent of the world’s merchant fleet, has revised its General Ice Clause for voyage charter parties.
   “The existing ice clause was found to be deficient in a number of ways, in particular that the vessel should not be required to follow ice breakers or to force [its way through] ice,” BIMCO said in a statement released on Monday.
   The new clause says that a vessel may follow ice-breakers when reasonably required.
   If a ship’s master is concerned that the vessel may be frozen in, a new sub-clause requires “the master or owners to notify the charterers that the vessel is leaving for the nearest safe place, and will there await the charterers’ nomination of an alternative safe port,” BIMCO said.
   BIMCO also restructured its “Cusdel Clause,” dating to 1965, which was originally designed to compensate owners for delays waiting for cargo documentation in connection with customs clearance.
   The new clause, which applies generally for all charterers, reduces free time from three to two hours.
   These revisions are part of an ongoing review of standard BIMCO clauses intended “to reflect legal and commercial developments,” BIMCO said.
   For more information, contact Carsten Hornecker, assistant manager of BIMCO’s documentary and legal division, at documentary@bimco.dk