BIMCO has decided that all new and revised BIMCO charter parties, bills of lading and waybills will refer to general average being adjusted in accordance with the YAR 2016 adopted by the CMI earlier this month. The main features of the new rules are as follows.
The new rules revert to certain key provisions of the 1994 rules, as regards:
– salvage (art VI),
– inclusion of wages and maintenance of the master, officers and crew during the period a vessel is in a port or place of refuge undergoing repairs recoverable in general average (rule XI).
– removal of the cap, introduced in the YAR 2004, on the cost of temporary repairs of accidental damage at a port of refuge (rule XIV)
The new rules retain the time bar introduced in rule XXIII of the YAR 2004 and the abolition of the 2 per cent commission on owners’ disbursements under YAR 2004. However, rule XXI now provides for interest on general average expenditure, sacrifices and allowances to be calculated at an annual rate of LIBOR plus 4 percentage points.
Rule XVII now permits adjusters to exclude low value cargoes from contribution to general average where the cost of inclusion would be likely to be disproportionate to its contribution.