BIMCO
The Baltic and International Maritime Council: its membership, the Documentary Committee, and how a standard form or clause is made.
BIMCO, the Baltic and International Maritime Council, is the largest of the international shipping associations and the principal publisher of standard charter party forms and clauses. It was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Denmark.
BIMCO gives its membership as around 2,100 members in 120 countries, whose members it describes as covering about two thirds of the world’s tonnage. Its Documentary Committee adopts and revises the standard forms and clauses, which is the mechanism that produced GENCON 2022 on 25 October 2022 and CONWARTIME 2025 and VOYWAR 2025 on 9 April 2025. BIMCO also holds consultative status at the IMO.
The full article will cover the organization’s structure and membership, the Documentary Committee process by which a form is drafted, consulted on and adopted, the contract and clause library and how editions are archived, and BIMCO’s role alongside INTERTANKO, INTERCARGO and the International Chamber of Shipping.