Standard charterparties are legal contracts developed by various organizations to provide a consistent and widely accepted framework for chartering of vessels.
The standard charterparties are commonly used as a basis for negotiation between shipowners and charterers, allowing them to tailor the terms and conditions to their specific needs while relying on a well-established and recognized foundation.
BIMCO is a prominent organization that develops a wide range of standard charterparty forms for charterparty agreements. Some of the BIMCO Standard Charterparty Forms include:
BIMCO, short for The Baltic and International Maritime Council, offers a wide range of contracts and clauses, including charter parties for different types of cargo and voyages, as well as bills of lading and other standard agreements.
Some of the most well-known standard charterparty forms include:
The GENCON 2022 charterparty is a widely used voyage charterparty standard form published by BIMCO. It is a general-purpose agreement for the services of a ship in exchange for freight and can be used in a variety of trades. GENCON is often used for the shipment of dry bulk cargoes.
The latest edition of this contract is GENCON 2022, replacing the previous version GENCON 1994.
The NYPE charterparty form is a widely recognized and used standard time charterparty form, especially in the dry cargo sector. While NYPE, short for New York Produce Exchange, originated in New York, the form is used globally.
NYPE 2015 is the latest edition, replacing the previous form NYPE 93. NYPE 2015 was developed in cooperation between BIMCO, copyright holder; The Association of Shipbrokers and Agents (ASBA), and the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF).
ASBAGASVOY is a standard voyage charterparty form for tankers, published by ASBA. It is commonly used for the transportation of liquid bulk cargoes. The charterparty has been developed for both refrigerated and pressurized liquefied gasses such as LPG and petrochemicals.
COAL-OREVOY is a standard voyage charterparty form used for the carriage of coal and ore cargoes. The latest edition of COAL-OREVOY was issued in 2003.
The form comes with its own bill of lading, the COAL-OREVOY BILL 2016.
The SYNACOMEX form is used for the shipment of grains and similar cargoes.
The form was developed by the French Union for Grain and Seeds Trade (SYNACOMEX) , from where it got its name, and the French Shipowners’ Association (AdF), with the assistance of the Maritime Arbitration Chamber of Paris (CAMP), and French Shipbrokers’ Association (CSCAMVNF).
The latest edition of the SYNACOMEX charterparty is SYNACOMEX 2023.
The Shelltime Charterparty is a standard time charterparty form, often used for the hire of small tankers in the petroleum trade.
These standard charterparty forms are well-established in the industry and provide a starting point for negotiations. Parties can modify the terms to meet their specific requirements, but having a recognized and widely accepted base form can save time and effort in the negotiation process.
It's important for both shipowners, brokers, and charterers to be familiar with these standard charterparty forms and understand the specific terms and conditions they entail.
However, it can also be advisable to seek legal and professional advice when negotiating and finalizing charterparty agreements to ensure that they align with the parties' interests and comply with relevant laws and regulations.
If you want to learn more about charterparties and what a chaterparty is, check out of Shipping Academy lesson about Charterparties.
