The Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) has named Singapore as an official seat of arbitration to represent the Asian region, to go with current seats London and New York.
The move will be reflected in the existing BIMCO Standard Dispute Resolution Clause, which will appear in all new and revised BIMCO contracts. The clause now covers three strategic geographical regions – Asia, Europe and the Americas – although parties can agree on other arbitration venues and applicable laws to suit their specific local requirements.
With Asian shipowners owning more than 50 percent of the world’s merchant fleet, and the Asian centres of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai rapidly growing in prominence, the move by BIMCO to name Singapore as an official arbitration seat in Asia has come at an ideal time.
Chris Grieveson, partner at Wikborg Rein, called it a “very important and significant” development. “It recognises something that’s already been happening quite a lot – many people have been amending charter parties and other legal documents to include a clause for Singapore arbitration,” he said.
Grieveson added that the BIMCO decision was a reflection of the fact that in the last five years, and particularly in the last three, there had been a massive growth in maritime arbitrations in Singapore. “A lot of effort has gone into promoting Singapore as an arbitration centre,” he said, pointing out that the way arbitration was done through the Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA) had been revamped greatly, to make it similar to the model used in London.
“As a result, it’s become quite popular, as Asian parties like to carry out dispute resolution in Asia,” Grieveson said. “Plus, a lot of decision makers in the maritime industry are either in Singapore or in this time zone, and they want to stay here instead of heading to London. Singapore is seen as a very neutral place, with a strong rule of law and so on.” He added that he expected maritime arbitration to continue growing in the foreseeable future.
BIMCO, the largest international shipping association representing shipowners, controls around 65 percent of the world’s tonnage, and has members in more than 120 countries, including managers, brokers and agents.
Ranajit Dam is Southeast Asia Editor at ALB. Follow us on Twitter: @ALB_Magazine.
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