BIMCO’s first attempt at developing such a contract dates back to the 1990s when the original FUELCON Marine Fuels Purchasing Agreement was developed. FUELCON generated a great deal of discussion in the industry about harmonising terms and conditions but failed to capture the market. A second attempt in 2002 aimed to address the balance in the contract. FUELCON was re-named the Standard Bunker Contract but again failed to gather a sufficiently high volume of users for it to become a true industry standard. Both forms had their followers and are still used to a certain extent in the industry today – often under the guise of a particular company’s own “house” terms and conditions for the purchase of marine fuels.
Early in 2012 a group of ship owners approached BIMCO with a request to update the Standard Bunker Contract to reflect changes in bunker-related legislation and practice. They felt that the time is now right for another attempt to establish a global standard. The new version will involve bunker interests from Singapore as well as Western Europe and it is very much hoped that this time a common set of terms can be agreed that will help harmonise marine fuels purchase around the world.
Work on the project begins in Copenhagen on 22 October and will move to Singapore later in the year. It is hoped to have a first draft ready for the Documentary Committee to review at their spring 2014 meeting in Dubai.