BIMCO Time Charterparty Clause for U.S. Port Fees on China-Linked Ships

BIMCO has just issued a time charterparty clause concerning the U.S. port fees (U.S. Services Fees) planned since 23 April 2025 for China-linked ships calling at U.S. ports.

The core parts of the clause are as follows:

When agreeing the charterparty, if requested by the charterer, the owner must declare to it whether the vessel, the owner, the bareboat charterer/disponent owner, the manager, or the operator are linked to China. And during the charterparty, the owner must declare to the charterer as soon as reasonably possible if that position has changed.

If the charterer subsequently orders the vessel to a U.S. port, and a U.S. Service Fee is imposed:

1. The charterer must pay it if the declarations have properly been made by the owner.
2. But the owner pays it or any increased portion of it if that results from (i) the owner not having properly made its declaration(s); or (ii) the owner’s charterparty breach or an off-hire event or the owner using the vessel outside of the charterer’s instructions.

If either party does not pay under the clause, all consequences, fines, expenses, losses, and time are for its account. And for the charterer’s failure to pay, the owner can additionally suspend performance of the charter.

In our view, the clause strikes a fair balance between an owner’s and time charterer’s competing commercial interests, and parties are best advised to address this scenario and consider the inclusion of the clause in their charterparties rather than leave things to chance.

The full text of the clause and its explanatory note can be found here.