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BIMCO (Baltic and International Maritime Council) is the world's largest international shipping association + the primary source of standard-form contract clauses. Modern shipping fixtures rely heavily on BIMCO standard clauses for consistent risk-allocation on emerging concerns: sanctions, war risk, cyber security, IMO 2020 sulphur cap, MLC compliance, CII/EEXI, MARPOL compliance, and more. Every ship-broker + charterer + Master benefits from familiarity with the core clauses even if the specific numbering changes year over year.
Standard clause allocating sanctions-compliance risk between owner and charterer. Requires charterer to warrant that voyage/cargo will not put vessel in breach of applicable sanctions regime. Owner has right to refuse voyage nomination that would breach sanctions. Includes step-by-step notification + suspension procedures. Widely adopted in NYPE + SHELLTIME + BPTIME fixtures post-2018 in response to Iran + Russia sanctions.
Voyage-charter equivalent. Charterer warrants cargo + trade route + counterparties are sanctions-compliant. Owner may refuse to load or discharge if a specific trade would trigger sanctions liability. Widely used in GENCON 2022 fixtures.
The market-standard war-risk clause for time charters. Owner has right to refuse voyage/port that would expose vessel to war risk. Includes provisions for additional-premium (AP) recovery from charterer, alternative routing, deviation, and destination-change. Extensively invoked during 2023-24 Red Sea Houthi campaign for Cape rerouting.
Voyage-charter equivalent to CONWARTIME. Owner may refuse voyage or alter routing where war risk emerges. Charterer bears additional-premium + demurrage cost of routing changes.
Requires both parties to have cyber risk management in place; establishes notification + cooperation obligations after a cyber incident; allocates liability for cyber-caused delays. Aligns with IMO Res. MSC.428(98) + IACS UR E26/E27. Widely adopted in modern fixtures particularly on Baltic + container trades.
Allocates cost + compliance risk of the 0.50% sulphur cap between owner and charterer. Charterer warrants supply of compliant fuel; owner may refuse non-compliant bunkers. Includes provisions for FONAR (Fuel Oil Non-Availability Reports) + non-compliance-defence documentation.
The landmark clause allocating CII rating exposure between owner and charterer. Requires charterer to operate the vessel in a manner compatible with the vessel's CII target trajectory. Owner may refuse voyages that would trigger a rating downgrade. Includes calculation-methodology reference to MEPC.354(78) correction factors. Widely adopted post-2023.
Addresses power-limitation + EEXI compliance timing during charter periods. Charterer acknowledges vessel EEXI status; owner has right to install power-limitation devices during charter if required for compliance.
Requires charterer to ensure trade patterns do not force violation of MLC A2.3 rest-hours + minimum-manning. Extends to accommodation + welfare obligations under MLC A4.3. Owner may refuse voyage that would require rest-hour derogation. Cross-references /reference/minimum-safe-manning.
Since 2020, BIMCO's clauses + full-form CPs are increasingly accessed via the BIMCO SmartCon platform — an online contract-management + clause-repository system replacing the historical printed BIMCO Bulletin + forms binder. SmartCon provides digital + up-to-date clause libraries for BIMCO members. Members can build + save fixture templates that combine BIMCO clauses with custom terms.
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