限硫令下的风险和应对

Focus:risk and response to IMO2020 sulfur restrictions

IMO 2020限硫令已经生效实施3个多月,该政策对航运业,尤其是船公司原有的技术、采购以及运营保障体系都带来不少新的风险和挑战,且易引发合同争议。为此,本刊组织部分航运人士及法律专家撰写专稿,就限硫令实施以来,相关各方所涉及的法律责任和常见风险进行梳理,特别是对程租、期租、长期包运等不同租船合同项下各方的费用分摊原则及相关条款深入剖析,并提出相关建议,希望能对相关从业人员厘清法律责任,有效识别和防范风险提供参考。

The IMO2020 sulfur restriction order has been in effect for more than three months.This policy brings many new risks and challenges to the shipping industry,especially the original technology,procurement and operation guarantee system of shipping companies,and it is easy to cause contract disputes.Therefore,Maritime China organizes some shipping and legal experts to write features on the subject of the limit of sulfur,which discuss the relevant parties involved in the legal liability and common risk,especially for voyage,time charter,long-term contracted affreightment under charter parties,such as the cost of apportion principle and related terms,and put forward relevant suggestions,hoping to clarify the legal responsibility,provide reference for identification and guard against risk effectively.For shipping companies,the supply of qualified low-sulphur fuel cannot be adequately guaranteed,its quality is difficult to be fully guaranteed and it may pose environmental risks.For ships,the possible risk of oil mixing,the wear of liner abrasive caused by high Al+Si content of oil product,the aggravation of wear caused by long-term use of MGO,the increasing difficulty of cylinder oil management and use,and the coping difficulties caused by excessive sulfur content all bring a lot of risks to ships.In order to cope with the IMO sulfur limitation order by installing desulfurization tower,the shipowner first needs to solve the pressure of the initial equipment investment,and at the same time takes into account the difference between high and low sulfur oil prices and the supply of high sulfur oil.In response to the new sulfur emissions regulations,the industry has adopted three methods:installing scrubbers,using alternative fuels(mainly non-petroleumbased LNG)and low-sulfur fuel(VLSFO).But whatever the response,the inevitable question is who should bear the extra costs.The use of compliant fuel oil by shipping companies will increase additional costs.At present,shipping companies mainly balance the cost of low-sulfur oil by raising the freight rate,imposing the surcharge of low-sulfur oil and implementing the floating mechanism of fuel price.After the implementation of the sulfur restriction order,the shipping company may delay the voyage due to the fuel quality or the need for refueling,and special attention should be paid to the provisions of breach of contract such as deviation.The IMO 2020 sulfur restriction order will have a major systemic impact on the global shipping industry.The long-term COA contract signed earlier has no special provisions on sulfur restriction order.In principle,the COA contract is the owner’s responsibility to install the desulfurization tower and use the compliant fuel oil."Contract Law","Contract Law Judicial Interpretation(2)"and other provisions on the contract price or remuneration when there is no agreement or the agreement is unclear,as well as the provisions on"change of circumstances".