Fake GUARDCON contracts may prove costly for shipowners
This week BIMCO warned shipowners of a number of private maritime security companies using unofficial copies of GUARDCON to conclude transit agreements with Shipowners. BIMCO highlight a handful of cases where wordings vary from the genuine GUARDCON wording. BIMCO warns that using these unofficial versions as well as breaching BIMCO's copyright may lessen the liabilities and responsibilities of private maritime security companies. The changes are not clearly marked in the text making it difficult for a shipowner to detect the changes.
Signing a fake GUARDCON that may contain subtle amendments to the liability provisions could prove to be a costly error for a shipowner if something goes wrong.
The Club recommends that owners verify the source of any GUARDCON contract to establish that it has been printed directly from IDEA2 - BIMCO's online contract editing system. If in doubt, you can contact the BIMCO Secretariat who will verify the document.
On 31 December 2019, the WHO China Country Office was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. A novel coronavirus was identified as the causative virus on 7 January 2020.
Update 13/06/19: Due to the recent attack on vessels in the Sea of Oman, Members are reminded of the following update and to exercise extreme caution in the region.
