Under Francis Sarre's chairmanship, BIMCO's Documentary Committee has adopted more than 50 contracts and clauses. Sarre has, amongst many other high-profile projects, spearheaded BIMCO's move into the ship financing area with the development of two term sheets for bilateral and syndicated term loan facilities, SHIPTERM and SHIPTERM S – projects which he also chaired himself. The suite of term sheets was completed with the development of a standard ship sale and leaseback term sheet, SHIPLEASE, published in September 2020.
“BIMCO's documentary work is widely recognised all over the world and it has been a privilege to be at the forefront of the Documentary Committee and all its committed members without whose knowledge and expertise we would not have the recognition and respect of the industry,” says Sarre who is Secretary General and General Counsel at Belgium-based CMB. He will continue his involvement in the development of BIMCO's new ship sale agreement, SHIPSALE 21, scheduled for adoption later this year.
Søren Larsen, BIMCO's Deputy Secretary General in charge of the association's contracts and clauses related work, commends Sarre's chairmanship: “Francis has been an outstanding chair, leading the Documentary Committee through challenging discussions, always mindful of the need to develop standards which strike the right chord as regards the commercial parties' rights and obligations.”
Busy work programme for new DC chair
Nick Fell of BW Group was officially elected Chairman of the Documentary Committee at BIMCO's General Meeting on 20 May. He takes over at a time when the industry in many ways is confronted with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic while, at the same time, there is also a need for robust contractual solutions in key areas such as environmental compliance.
“The shipping industry is heavily reliant on BIMCO's contracts and clauses and I will do my utmost to ensure that the Documentary Committee continues to act in a timely and quality-oriented fashion, developing pragmatic and commercially sound solutions,” says Fell who is Executive Vice President, Corporate Services and General Counsel at BW Group in Singapore.
The next Documentary Committee is planned for November 2021 in London. In view of the busy work programme, an additional online session of the DC is being considered for September.
“I am sure that Nick will be an excellent chair and will assist the Documentary Committee in meeting the challenges that the industry is facing today,” concludes Sarre.
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Xinde Marine News.
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