Shipowners push for coronavirus quarantine clauses

Some shipowners are attempting to reduce any risk arising from the coronavirus by insisting on protective clauses concerning demurrage and quarantine.

"Not many ships are willing to call Chinese ports now," a shipbroker told Argus. "More and more shipowners want to put a coronavirus clause that the charterers bear the demurrage in case of any quarantine."

Many countries have, since the WHO declared the spread of coronavirus a global emergency on 30 January, required health declaration procedures for ships that have called at Chinese ports.

One set of coronavirus clauses from a shipowner — seen by Argus — stipulate that charterers are supposed to nominate an alternative discharge port and that all deviation and time lost shall be on the charterers' account if a ship is barred from entry to a port because it previously called somewhere experiencing an outbreak.

Charterers are also responsible for the time involved and any expenses occurred if the ship loads and discharges at a Chinese port or subsequent ports where special precautions are required. The extra time used by the master to take precautionary measures or protect crew or any other person on board shall count as laytime or time on demurrage.

Some shipowners or operators have adopted in their contracts advice related to infectious or contagious disease clauses for voyage and time charter parties from shipping industry association Bimco in response to the Ebola virus outbreak in 2015. Those clauses state that charterers needs to bear costs, expenses or liabilities arising from a vessel visiting or having visited an affected area, and the charterer also needs to pay for any time lost, which counts as laytime or time on demurrage.

A charterer told Argus that they have to accept the protective clauses but that they do not like them.

By Vivien Gu