<p class="p1"><span class="s1">BIMCO, the world’s largest international shipping organisation, has now launched an anti-corruption clause for charter parties.  </span>The new clause will give owners and charterers a contractual platform for cooperative action to resist demands for illegal payments from port officials and others.</p>
<p class="p1"><a href="http://myseatime.com/blogadm/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/BIMCO-corruption.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1242" src="http://myseatime.com/blogadm/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/BIMCO-corruption.jpg" alt="BIMCO corruption" width="800" height="494" /></a></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">BIMCO Secretary General, Angus Frew, said:</span></p>

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<p class="p1"><span class="s1">BIMCO recognises the importance of a united approach by the shipping industry towards stamping out corruption in the ports and places where the world’s merchant fleet trades.  </span>Use of the clause is entirely voluntary – it has been developed for owners and charterers who want to combat corrupt practices in ports by using a clearly worded framework in their charter parties.</p>
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<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The clause can be used in any jurisdiction because it applies the anti-corruption laws applicable to each of the parties and the local law of the place where the ship is located.  </span>A key provision of BIMCO’s Anti-Corruption Clause is a mechanism for owners to issue a note of protest if an illegal demand is made and the demand is not withdrawn.  This triggers a co-operative response by charterers and owners to the demand. A safeguard for the owners if they issue a protest to resist a demand and the ship is delayed is that charterers cannot place the ship off-hire.</p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Inga Froysa of Klaveness, Norway, is part of BIMCO’s Documentary Committee and headed the drafting team for the new clause. Mrs Froysa commented:</span></p>

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<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Our objective is to provide the industry with a fair and balanced clause. </span>The clause addresses owners’ and charterers’ responsibility to comply with anti-corruption legislation and helps them to work together to resist demands for illegal payments. BIMCO’s Anti-Corruption Clause is the result of a concerted effort by a team of international lawyers and practitioners to provide an acceptable and workable alternative to the clauses currently in circulation.</p>
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<p class="p1"><b>Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/evertwh/3348440435/">Evert Haasdijk</a> / <a href="http://foter.com/">Foter.com</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></b></p>