BARECON 2017
The BIMCO bareboat standard: Parts I to V, the Box 27, 28 and 29 switches, and the purchase option that replaced hire-purchase.
BARECON 2017 is the BIMCO standard bareboat charter party. It descends from BARECON A and BARECON B, first published in 1974, amalgamated and revised in 1989, and revised again in 2001 and 2017.
The form is built in parts so that one document can serve both a straight bareboat hire and a financing structure. Part I is the box layout, Part II the printed terms, Part III the newbuilding provisions switched on at Box 27, Part IV a purchase option switched on at Box 28, and Part V the bareboat charter registry provisions at Box 29. The 2017 edition replaced the hire-purchase mechanism of BARECON 2001 with a purchase option, which is a distinction that matters when characterising the transaction for finance and tax purposes.
The full article will cover the part structure and the box switches, the insurance and maintenance obligations that protect an owner out of possession, the mortgage and finance provisions, redelivery condition, and the use of the form in sale-and-leaseback and tonnage-provider structures.