SALEFORM 2012
The Norwegian Saleform edition that carried the secondhand market for over a decade: its 18 pre-printed clauses, the deposit blank, and its 1956 lineage.
SALEFORM 2012 is the 2012 edition of the Norwegian Saleform, the Memorandum of Agreement that governed most of the world’s secondhand ship sales until SALEFORM 2025 replaced it. Copyright is held by the Norwegian Shipbrokers’ Association, and BIMCO publishes and distributes the form.
The form’s lineage runs from its adoption by BIMCO in 1956 through revisions in 1966, 1983, 1986/87, 1993 and 2012. Its pre-printed clauses run in a fixed order that practitioners cite by number: Purchase Price at 1, Deposit at 2, Payment at 3, Inspection at 4, Time and place of delivery and notices at 5, Divers Inspection and Drydocking at 6, Documentation at 8, Encumbrances at 9, Condition on delivery at 11, Buyers’ default at 13 and Sellers’ default at 14.
One point is widely misstated. Clause 2 does not fix the deposit at 10%: it leaves the percentage as a blank and supplies 10% only as a fallback where the parties leave the box empty. Deals are routinely done at other figures.
The full article will cover each pre-printed clause, the rider clauses that attach to it, the interaction with ship sale and purchase practice, and why the form will be seen on live transactions for years after its replacement.