As the maritime industry prepares for the implementation of FuelEU Maritime regulations starting January 1, 2025, ensuring compliance has become a pressing priority for shipowners and charterers alike. To address these challenges, BIMCO has released the FuelEU Maritime Clause for Time Charter Parties 2024, designed to provide clarity and allocate responsibilities between owners and charterers in time charter parties.
The key components are summarized as follows:.
- Compliance Monitoring: Owners must ensure that the vessel maintains a monitoring plan recorded in the FuelEU Database and that GHG intensity is tracked and reported for verification by an independent verifier.
- Fuel Supply Compliance: Charterers have the option of ensuring compliance through the supply of specific fuels provided that these comply with FuelEU Maritime specifications. They must ensure that bunker delivery notes and electricity delivery notes meet regulatory standards.
- Payment of Surcharges: Charterers are liable to pay any surcharges related to negative Compliance Balances on a specified basis (monthly or per voyage) or as part of the final hire payment.
- Instructions on Banking/Pooling: Charterers can instruct owners to bank or pool Compliance Balances, however, they assume responsibility for any liabilities or costs arising from such instructions. In accordance with sub-clause (i) the default position is that Charterers may instruct owners how to bank or pool. We recommend that owners with existing banking or pooling arrangements, or owners who wish to ensure flexibility in their contract to make other arrangements consider whether amendments to the clause are necessary.
We recommend our Members to review their existing charter agreements and consider incorporating the BIMCO FuelEU Maritime Clause for Time Charter Parties 2024 into their contracts to ensure compliance with the new regulations. In light of the implications of the default provisions we recommend that owners carefully consider whether the standard wording is appropriate for their specific situation.
For advice on incorporating the FuelEU Maritime Clause into charter parties or addressing specific compliance concerns, we invite our Members to contact the NNPC claims team at claims@nnpc.nl.
