Starting 1 January 2025, the FuelEU Maritime Regulation will take effect, prompting stakeholders in the shipping industry to begin preparations immediately.
To assist with this transition, BIMCO has developed the FuelEU Maritime Clause for Time Charter Parties 2024, which was officially adopted by BIMCO’s Documentary Committee on 25 November 2024. This clause is designed to help stakeholders align their contractual frameworks in compliance with the new regulation.
“This clause has been eagerly awaited by the industry. January is almost here, and the FuelEU Maritime regulation is complex. Because of this, we have carried out several industry consultations during the drafting process to make sure that we arrived at a clause that works in practice,” commented Stinne Taiger Ivø, Deputy Secretary General and Director of Contracts at BIMCO.
As the shipping industry faces increasing decarbonization regulations from both the European Union and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), BIMCO continues to expand its portfolio of carbon-related clauses. The latest addition, the FuelEU Maritime Clause for Time Charter Parties 2024, is tailored for inclusion in time charter agreements.
Moreover, the subcommittee focused on creating a standard clause applicable to a wide range of scenarios and commercial relationships. For extended charter periods, charterers are given flexibility in their compliance approach, whether through pooling, banking, or borrowing strategies.
“The FuelEU Maritime regulation will significantly impact the shipping industry, even more so than the EU Emissions Trading System. The clause we have adopted today is the result of a collaborative process between owners, charterers, P&I and legal experts and other stakeholders,” stated Nicholas Fell, Chair of BIMCO’s Documentary Committee.
Under the new clause, the ship owner is responsible for ensuring compliance with the FuelEU Maritime Regulation. However, in practice, this responsibility may fall to a third-party ship manager who has assumed the obligations set forth by the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and Pollution Prevention (ISM Code). To address this, BIMCO is currently working on a corresponding clause for its SHIPMAN ship management agreement.
This effort follows previous initiatives by BIMCO’s Documentary Committee. In December 2023, the committee introduced an Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) Allowances Clause for the SHIPMAN agreement, as well as three ETS clauses for Voyage Charter Parties. Additionally, in June 2024, the committee adopted three ETS clauses for Contracts of Affreightment.
Other published decarbonisation clauses in BIMCO’s carbon clauses portfolio include the Emission Trading Scheme Allowances Clause for Time Charter Parties, CII Clause for Voyage Charter Parties, CII Operations Clause for Time Charter Parties and the EEXI Transition Clause for Time Charter Parties.
