Ame rican Club Circular No. 17/15 1 MARCH 30, 2015 CIRCULAR NO. 17/15 TO MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION Dear Member: INFECTIOUS OR CONTAGIOUS DISEASES: CHARTERPARTY AND OTHER CONTRACTUAL CONSIDERATIONS: BIMCO CLAUSES Reference is made to Circular No. 30/14 of October 10, 2014 in regard to charterparty and other contractual considerations arising from the then recent outbreak of Ebola disease. In the interim period, BIMCO has undertaken a review of charterparty wordings in regard to infectious and contagious diseases generally, and has subsequently issued the attached Special Circular No. 3 – BIMCO Infectious or Contagious Disease Clause for Voyage and Time Charter Parties. The above mentioned Club Circular can be found at The Ebola Virus: Charterparty and Other Contractual Considerations. This contains two alternative Ebola clause wordings in Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 thereto. At that time, BIMCO had not developed an Ebola virus wording. However, it is suggested that Members also consider incorporating the BIMCO clause as standard language into their voyage and time charterparties in the future. Because each case will depend on its facts, it is recommended that Members consult with the Managers not only to coordinate their efforts, obtain advice and take appropriate measures to best protect their interests, but also to stay abreast of all new and significant developments in regard to Ebola specifically, and other infectious and contagious diseases in general. For further information, Members are asked to refer to the Club’s Ebola virus section on its website at http://www.american-club.com/page/ebola Yours faithfully, Joseph E.M. Hughes, Chairman & CEO Shipowners Claims Bureau, Inc., Managers for THE AMERICAN CLUB SPECIAL CIRCULAR No. 3 – 16 January 2015 161 Bagsvaerdvej DK -­‐ 2880 Bagsvaerd Tel: +45 4436 6800 documentary@bimco.org www.bimco.org BIMCO Infectious or Contagious Diseases Clause for Voyage and Time Charter Parties The outbreak from time to time of virulent diseases can have significant implications for ship owners and operators. This might include quarantine of a vessel and crew in an area where the disease is prevalent as well as the imposition of restrictions, possibly weeks or months later, in ports remote from the infected region as a precaution against the disease spreading further. At the time of writing, the Ebola virus has highlighted the issues but, some ten years ago, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was a cause of similar concern. It is likely that equally serious strains of existing, or newly identified, diseases will occur from time to time. For this reason BIMCO has chosen to develop a set of comprehensive and clearly worded generic clauses for voyage and time charter parties that can be applied not only to the Ebola outbreak but to other similar virulent diseases that may occur in the future. BIMCO is grateful to the following members for their work in the development process: Mr Jean-Pierre Laffaye, Cetragpa, (Chairman) (Owner) Ms Nicola Cox, (West of England P&I Club) Mrs Philippa Langton, (UK P&I Club) Mr Frank Riley, (Skuld P&I Club) Mr Richard Stevens, (The Standard P&I Club) General principles The clauses have been developed for use in response to any virulent disease and therefore drafted in general terms without reference to specific conditions. The provisions are intended for application only in the most severe cases. A high threshold has therefore been inserted so that the triggering mechan