Bimco Launches New Contract for Employment of Security Escort Vessels

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea remains a big problem, however local laws and enforcement practices make it difficult for vessels to call at ports in the region with foreign armed guards onboard, and some countries prohibit local armed guards from boarding foreign commercial vessels.

As such, a practice has developed for foreign vessels calling at these ports to arrange, through the agency of private maritime security companies (PMSC), for SEVs with local naval armed guards and the PMSC’s liaison officer onboard, to accompany the vessels during the vessels’ calls to this region.

In the absence of a standard contract for the hiring of the SEVs’ services, BIMCO announced in February this year that it would be developing such a standard form. The Club is pleased to inform Members that Bimco’s Documentary Committee has now finalised the standard form contract which will be available for use from January.

For further information on this announcement, Members should get in touch with their usual Club contact.

Jacqueline Tan

Legal Services Manager

Date22/12/2021

Tags

You may also be interested in:

Piracy is a big problem in the Gulf of Guinea but local laws and enforcement practices make it difficult for vessels to call at ports in the region with foreign armed guards onboard, and some countries prohibit local armed guards from boarding foreign commercial vessels.

In this Ask an Expert video Anuj Velankar, Senior Loss Prevention Advisor at the UK P&I Club is joined by Kim Chua, Chartered Engineer and Metallurgist at Brookes Bell to discuss the dangers and implications of crane wire failure.

Our correspondents in China, Huatai Marine, have provided the latest update relating to the distribution of major fishery farms along the coast of China. 

The region comprising Latin America and the Caribbean is a busy one for the UK P&I Club. Some prominent Members have a large number of tons entered with the Club and have this region as their principal place of business. Moreover, many of the Club’s entered ships frequently call at Latin American and Caribbean ports regardless of where the Member is based, which can undoubtedly be anywhere in the world.