Many Nordisk members are already impacted, or will be impacted, by the escalating tension between Russia and Ukraine.
It is anticipated that further sanctions will be implemented by the EU, UK and US in addition to the sanctions already in place. It will become critical to understand the scope of such sanctions. At the same time, it will be necessary to evaluate the protection available in war clauses, typically BIMCO’s CONWARTIME or VOYWAR. The critical question for most members will be to determine whether a particular port is safe and/or whether sanctions apply to contemplated contracts. Depending upon the wording of war cancellation clauses there is also a risk of charter parties being cancelled.
In connection with fixtures, Members should ensure that they have included safe port warranties and have incorporated the latest versions of the war clauses -CONWARTIME 2013 and VOYWAR 2013 as well as comprehensive sanctions clauses such as the BIMCO Sanctions Clauses for Time or Voyage Charter Parties 2020.
Our offshore members should also be prepared for further sanctions impacting work conducted in Russia. Despite existing restrictions, it is expected that there will further focus on energy projects.
Insofar as war risks are concerned, the Joint War Committee in London (JWC) has recently designated Ukrainian and Russian waters in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov as Listed Areas. This in turn will cause war risk insurers to decide what additional premium level shall apply to such conditional areas.
We anticipate that there will be an influx of information about these issues in the coming days and we look forward to helping our members navigate the challenges ahead. Members are encouraged to contact us with any general queries they might have as well as specific concerns regarding calls at Russian or Ukrainian ports.
As a final matter, we should mention that Nordisk has the resources and capacity to conduct individual and entity sanctions checks as well as KYC risk evaluations.
Inquiries can be directed to post@nordisk.no or individual members of our team.
