A new voyage charter party specially created for gas carrier use has been approved by Bimco and the US Association of Ship Brokers & Agents (ASBA).
The two bodies said ASBAGASVOY has been greenlighted for publication to serve the growing gas tanker industry. It is specifically aimed at the LPG, chemical gas and hydrous ammonia gas trades, a spokesperson for ASBA said.
The charter party is based on its tanker equivalent, ASBATANKVOY, which has been used previously in an amended form for gas carrier fixtures.
Its new gas equivalent introduces gas specific terminology and replaces clauses relating to product tanker trades.
“An important feature of ASBAGASVOY is the introduction of a presentation clause,” the two outfits said.
“The clause is at the heart of any gas tanker charter party and describes how the cargo tanks and lines are to be presented for loading upon arrival of the ship at a terminal.”
The form is accompanied by a standalone bill of lading form, ASBAGASBILL.
Both will soon be available on BIMCO’s secure contract editing system SmartCon and on ASBA’s website.
The ASBAGASVOY drafting committee was co-chaired by ASBA documentary committee chairman Soren Wolmar and BW Group’s head of legal for shipping Stephen Harper.
Petredec's Elwin Taylor, Clarksons recently retired LPG head Tommy Baggio, Magne Andersen from Nordisk Legal Services and Caroline Avgerinou of Thomas Miller P&I (Europe) were also on the committee.
Specialist gas carrier brokers were waiting to see the new documentation and said uptake will likely take time and be dependent on market conditions.
One described it as "worthwhile doing", particularly as ASBATANKVOY dates back to the 1970s, but pointed out that energy majors change their charter terms every six months so the new charter party's relevance will need to be assessed.
Bimco president Sadan Kaptanoglu said: "Over the past 10 years, the gas tanker sector has experienced a significant expansion with a doubling of the cargo carrying capacity in the liquefied petroleum gas trade.
"The timing is therefore ideal for the sector to get a dedicated form which reflects commercial practice, sets out the necessary terms in a clear and concise way, saves time and reduces the risk of contractual disputes."
Bimco and ASBA said work will now begin to revise tanker voyage charter party ASBATANKVOY which was last updated in 1977.
ASBA president Arthur Savage described this as "the next big milestone".
