www.bifa.org


News Desk


BIFAlink


Liverpool Annual Dinner cancelled


BIMCO to draft force majeure clause From International Shipping News


With an increasing focus on force majeure due to the COVID-19 outbreak, BIMCO has gathered a drafting team to develop a free- standing force majeure clause for use in a variety of contracts. Successfully invoking force


majeure under a charter party or other contract depends on many factors. One essential element for contracts governed by English law is that the agreement must contain a clause that defines what constitutes a force majeure event and sets out the circumstances under which the clause can be invoked to excuse liability for non- performance. That is because force majeure is


not a free-standing legal concept under English law, as opposed to some civil law countries such as France, where it is written into the Code Civil. English law operates


instead with frustration, which has a reputation of being almost impossible to attain. Although several BIMCO contracts


include a force majeure clause, this was never published as a standalone clause in BIMCO’s clause library. The drafting team met for the first time on 1-2 September to discuss issues such as: • Who the clause should benefit and what the threshold for invoking force majeure should be.


• What should qualify as a force majeure event for the purpose of the clause. Generally, force majeure events fall into two groups: natural events and political events. Natural events may include earthquakes, floods, and other natural disasters. Political events may include terrorism, war (whether declared or not), riots, strikes, changes of laws or government policies. • What the consequences of a


force majeure event should be – for example, non-liability for damages, suspension of performance or termination.


• Whether different force majeure clauses should be developed for different types of contracts. A force majeure clause in a voyage charter party would need to provide for different consequences than in a ship sale and purchase contract due to the nature of these contracts.


Inspiration is drawn from the ICC


Force Majeure Clause 2020. The experts on the drafting team – Inga Frøysa, Klaveness, Nicola Ioannou, Oceanfleet, Peri Ertugruloglu, Glencore Agriculture, Rory Butler, HFW, Andrew Rigden Green, Stephenson Harwood, and Philip Stephenson, The Standard Club – will continue their deliberations at the next meeting this month. Source: BIMCO


It is with sadness that BIFA has taken the decision, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, not to hold the BIFA Liverpool Region Annual Dinner in February 2021. For many years the event has


been a highlight of the calendar for BIFA Members and shipping lines and through the efforts of Paul Young, the local BIFA consultant, has raised thousands of pounds for local and national charities. BIFA would like to thank Paul


Young, the sponsors (Genco Logistics, Hapag-Lloyd, MCP plc and Peel Ports) and all BIFA Members who have attended the event over the years for their support.


Don’t keep it


to yourself Remember to circulate BIFAlink to your colleagues. Not your copy of BIFAlink? – register for your own copy by contacting membership@bifa.org. BIFAlink is the magazine of the


British International Freight Association and is distributed free to Members.


By sea – Hague Visby rules (2 SDR): £2.20 per kg £731.89 per package


By road – CMR (8.33 SDR): £9.14 per kg


By air –Montreal Convention (22 SDR): £24.15 per kg


October 2020


By air –Warsaw Convention (17 SDR): £18.66 per kg


BIFA STC: (2 SDR): £2.20 per kg


(The SDR rate on 14 September 2020, according to the IMF website, was 1.09783)


7


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24