Sale & Purchase and Newbuilding Construction
Ship newbuilding construction contracts are a very specialist area.
We have been involved in this area for over 20 years drafting many standard form contracts for clients as diverse as Jo Tankers and Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd (IHI Corporation).
Professional Legal Negotiators
We are often asked to attend commercial, and sometimes technical negotiations at shipyards to finalise contracts.
Typical Cases
Of particular concern are:
- Liquidated damage provisions such as
- Delay in delivery
- Deadweight
- Trial speed
- Fuel consumption.
- The interface of the insurance clause with the delay in delivery clause.
- Accurately defining the Maker’s List.
- Clarifying the description of force majeure events.
- The terms of the refund guarantee.
Our Advantage
Our expertise extends to buyers delay-in-delivery insurance and shipyards warranty insurance as well as H&M and P&I extensions for newbuilds.
We have significant experience in drafting and negotiating new building contracts with shipyards in Poland, Japan, China, Scotland, Norway and Spain. None of our contracts have been the subject of litigation, however we have handled legal actions on many contracts drafted by others.
Hull and newbuilding claims
- Proximate cause
- Burden of proof
- Claims usually covered
- Actual total loss
- Vessel actually destroyed
- Owner irretrievably deprived of vessel
- Constructive total loss
- Repair costs would exceed value when repaired
- Substitution of insured value for repaired value
- Notice of abandonment (NOA)
- Tender of NOA regularly and often
- War risks
- Damage to the vessel - Particular Average
- Perils insured against compared with Institute Time clauses - Hulls CL 280 (01.11.95)
- Institute additional perils clause - Hulls (01.10.83): Due diligence proviso
- Extended to include superintendents and all onshore management
- Running down clause (RDC)
- Damage to cargo on other vessel
- Damage to the other vessel
- Vessels proportion of General Average
- Suing and labouring charges
- Risks usually not covered
- Increased value and disbursements
- Loss of use/loss of passage money
- P&I and FD&D risks