BIMCO’s Documentary Committee has adopted a CII Operations Clause for Time Charter Parties which will help the industry implement new IMO requirements.
The new regulations on the carbon intensity of international shipping will come into force on 1 January 2023. The complex CII regulations are expected to significantly impact the future operation of ships. Shipowners and charterers must embrace new ways to co-operate, and new clauses for charter parties will be needed to help owners and charterers succeed.
The starting point for the new CII clause is that a time charterer should take responsibility for a ship’s emissions because the charterer makes the relevant decisions on the operation of the ship. When entering into the charter party, or incorporating the clause into an existing charter party, the parties are to agree on a specific CII to be achieved each year.
Nicholas Fell, BIMCO Documentary Committee chairperson said: “The subcommittee comprised ship owners, charterers and legal and insurance experts. After more than eight months of deliberation and consultation, we have arrived at a clause which serves as an excellent starting point for negotiations for owners and charterers and which is workable in practice. The new clause will be reviewed as the underpinning regulatory regime develops.”
As the industry faces more regulations from the IMO and the EU aimed at reducing shipping’s CO2 emissions, the need for new contracts and clauses increases. In December 2021, BIMCO published an EEXI Transition Clause and at the end of May 2022, BIMCO released a new Emissions Trading System Allowances (ETSA) Clause for Time Charter Parties in response to the European Union’s intention to include shipping emissions in the EU’s emissions trading system, the ETS.
Stinne Taiger Ivø, BIMCO Director Contracts and Support said: “The CII clause is the latest addition to BIMCO’s suite of carbon clauses for time charter parties. The subcommittee will now continue its work to develop further clauses (such as a CII clause for voyage charter parties) to assist charterers and owners responding to new regulatory requirements, regardless of whether they come from the IMO, EU, or elsewhere.”
