BIMCO Eyes Asia with New Gas Contracts

Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) will begin work on two gas-related contracts in early 2019, an LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) Bunker Purchase Contract and a LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas) voyage charter party.

A press release from the largest of the international shipping associations representing shipowners said that it is planning to develop the new contracts in Asia in an effort to further increase the involvement of its Asian members. Both projects will be developed mainly by experts from the region and managed by BIMCO’s Shanghai office, assisted by head office staff in Copenhagen.

“An alternative fuels contract and a voyage charter for LPG are two key projects which have global resonance,” says Grant Hunter, Head of Contracts and Clauses at BIMCO.

“This is an opportunity for BIMCO to optimise its documentary work by sharing some of the project tasks among Asian membership resources,” Hunter says.

Drafting teams for the two projects are being recruited from Japan, China and Singapore with additional expertise from European based members. The project will be headed by Wei Zhuang, BIMCO’s Asia Regional Manager based in Shanghai.

“I’m looking forward to bringing some of our important documentary work to the Asian region where there is solid demand for BIMCO’s contracts and clauses,” Zhuang says.

Work on the LNG Bunker Purchase Contract and the LPG Voyage Charter Party will begin in January 2019 and is expected to take approximately 18 months to complete.