The international shipping association Bimco has started discussions to revise War Risk Clauses, as it is important that these clauses reflect the nature of modern conflicts, as Bimco says.
For this purpose it has established a subcommittee to review the Bimco war cancellation clause 2004, the Bimco war risks clause for time chartering 2013 (CONWARTIME 2013), and the Bimco war risks clause for voyage chartering 2013 (VOYWAR 2013).
Generally, charter parties contain war clauses which are also known as “War Risk Clauses” and from time to time also the war cancellation clause is included.
About 10 years after the last revision of War Risk Clauses, and as the geopolitical landscape does not stay status quo, the Bimco subcommittee will consider whether a revision of the current wording would be relevant and beneficial to the industry.
Furthermore, the subcommittee will focus on ensuring that the clauses remain commercially workable and fit today’s needs of the industry.
In a meeting, the subcommittee discussed the war risk insurance aspects, both in terms of cover and the responsible party to pay the premium.
Source: BIMCO