Charterers negotiating BIMCO’s FuelEU Maritime Clause for Time Charter Parties 2024 are increasingly asking us about three things: the right to pool a vessel’s Compliance Balance, the right to use biofuel to improve it, and the right to fix a contractual deficit price rather than rely on the statutory FuelEU Penalty. Two of these already exist in the standard clause. The third requires rewriting it.

Pooling

Where the Charter Period covers a complete FuelEU Reporting Period, subclause (i) already gives the charterer the right to instruct the owner to bank or pool the vessel’s Compliance Balance. No amendment is required. What charterers typically need to negotiate instead is the notification deadline that subclause (i) leaves for the parties to agree. This is expressed as X days before 30 April. Subclause (k), which governs the financial reconciliation following pooling or borrowing, generally needs no amendment either, provided the standard penalty-based Surcharge mechanism is retained.

Biofuel

Subclause (c) already allows the charterer to achieve compliance through the supply of fuels and energy, subject to compliance with the charterparty’s bunker specifications and the provision of the necessary documentation and certification. However, the intended biofuel or blend must be expressly permitted under those clauses, or the charterparty needs amending to permit it.

A further complication has emerged since BIMCO’s FuelEU clause was published: a standalone Biofuels Clause for Time Charter Parties 2026, covering fuel specification and ISO compliance, owner consent for non-standard fuels, segregated tank storage, and consumption-within-days requirements to prevent degradation. Given how few bunkering hubs reliably stock biofuel, charterers negotiating biofuel rights should be reading the two clauses together.

Deficit pricing

Where owner and charterer wish to price a deficit at an agreed EUR/tCO2e rate, rather than the expected statutory FuelEU Penalty, subclause (d) must be rewritten to replace the penalty basis with the agreed rate. Subclause (g), which governs adjustments and reimbursements arising from changes in the Compliance Balance, and subclause (k), which governs final reconciliation, both reference the FuelEU Penalty and need the same treatment. Left unamended, either will revert the contractual price to the statutory penalty calculation at settlement.

Drafting the amendments

To see our suggested wording for each clause, you can download our cheat sheet. Or, if you have any questions about how to word your charterparty, you can schedule a meeting.

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