A Bimco team is working on a new clause to mitigate the effects of cyber security breaches in shipping.
Led by Inga Froysa of Klaveness, the group also comprises staff from Navig8, the UK P&I Club and law firm HFW.
The charter clause requires parties to have plans and procedures in place to protect computer systems and data, and to be able to respond quickly and efficiently to a cyber incident, Bimco said.
The affected company must notify its partner quickly, so necessary counter-measures can be taken.
"The liability of the parties to each other for claims is limited to an amount agreed during negotiations. A sum of $100,000 will apply if no other amount is inserted," Bimco added.
The owners' organisation said the clause will raise awareness of cyber risks among owners, charterers and brokers.
Payment fraud left out
The drafting team discussed if the clause should also address payment fraud, but it was concluded that the risk of this increasingly common swindle is probably best dealt with at a procedural level by companies tightening up their internal payment procedures to require verification of any changes to payment details.
The clause project is due to be completed in May 2019.
The June 2017 NotPetya attack that cost AP Moller-Maersk at least $300m was a wake-up call, but the industry should prepare for a much more damaging incident, Mark Sutcliffe, director of CSO Alliance, an online community of shipping company security officers, told TradeWinds this month.
"A worst-case scenario might involve intrusion that invokes a cascade failure of a vessel carrying hazardous or polluting material, or possibly sustained disruption to networked navigational systems that could have an industry-wide impact," he said.
