As of 1 January 2024, the EU ETS requirements have applied to vessels with a gross tonnage of over 5000 GT. Shipping companies that do not manage to comply with these requirements run the risk of fines of 100 euros per equivalent ton of CO2 plus other punishments that the EU and its individual member states may potentially impose.
Over the recent period, BIMCO has published various clauses that have been specifically formulated to deal with the operational consequences of the system. We recommend that our members should include these clauses in their freight contracts if so desired:
- BIMCO’s emission trading scheme allowances clause for time charter parties, 2023
- BIMCO’s emission scheme freight clause for voyage charter parties, 2023
- BIMCO’s emission scheme surcharge clause for voyage charter parties, 2023
- BIMCO’s surcharge for transferring emission scheme allowances for voyage charter parties, 2023
These clauses can be found via the following link: https://www.bimco.org/contracts-and-clauses/bimco-clauses
Including these clauses will let members ensure that the responsibilities are properly arranged between the owners and the freight carriers, based on the ETS. In addition, BIMCO has published the SHIPMAN Emission Trading Scheme Allowances Clause 2023 in which the relationship between shipowners and their managers are arranged.
Members who have any questions about this subject or about implementing the clauses mentioned above in their freight contracts are asked to contact the NNPC claims team on claims@nnpc.nl.
