Owners organisation Bimco is pushing hard to finish work on two key IMO 2020 bunker clauses.
The 2020 Global Marine Fuel Sulphur Content Clause, a general compliance provision, will be put forward for adoption by its documentary committee on 13 November.
A first draft has also been prepared of a clause dealing with the transition to 0.5% sulphur content.
This will be discussed at the same meeting.
The Bimco drafting team is drawn from owners, charterers, fuel suppliers, P&I Clubs and lawyers.
It includes Peter Eckhardt of F Laeisz, Nicola Ioannou of Ocean Fleet, Daniel Chu of Navig8 and Ann Shazell of Cargill Ocean Transportation.
“The feedback provided by the committee will be used to further refine the clause immediately afterwards," said Bimco head of contracts and clauses, Grant Hunter.
"Furthermore, the sub-committee will ask the documentary committee to fast-track the clause with the aim to issue the 2020 Global Marine Fuel Sulphur Content Clause and the 2020 Transitional Fuel Clause together as a package."
Cooperation essential
The compliance clause aims to make sure owners and charterers meet MARPOL Annex VI requirements.
Charterers must use bunker suppliers and barge operators who will also comply with MARPOL requirements throughout the supply chain.
The transitional clause recognises that owners and time charterers will have to cooperate in the run up to 1 January 2020 to manage fuel supplies to minimise the amount of non-compliant fuel on board the ship on that date.
Any non-compliant fuel on board belonging to the charterers after 1 January 2020 will need to be discharged from the ship and disposed of at charterers’ risk, time and cost - at the latest by the 1 March 2020 carriage ban date, or by the redelivery date – whichever comes first.
It will be the owners’ responsibility to clean empty fuel tanks to prepare them to receive 0.5% sulphur content fuel, Bimco said.
And, to minimise the risk of incompatibility between stems of 0.5% sulphur fuel, the clause requires each supply of fuel to be kept separate - even if it is of the same grade and specification.
