New BIMCO clauses

BIMCO has launched the bunker non-lien clause, aimed at reducing bunker suppliers’ reliance on ship arrest as a means of resolving claims for bunkers ordered but not paid for by time charterers, often due to bankruptcy. If a time charterer goes out of business during the currency of a charter, owners can sometimes face a “double whammy” of loss of hire for the balance of the contract and then subsequent arrest of their vessel by bunker suppliers pursuing a claim for unpaid bunkers.