金康2022的应用及实务

Considering that GENCON 2022 has undergone significant changes and can basically be considered as a completely new form of charter, we advise the parties to take, before applying it, into account the actual place of performance of the charter, the goods to be transported and whether there are any restrictions on such goods at the time, both domestically and internationally, and to carefully choose the appropriate governing law so as to reduce disputes to the greatest extent.

考虑到本次GENCON 2022变化较大，基本可以视为一种全新的租约格式。我们建议各方在适用前，结合租约的实际履行地点、运输的货物以及当时的国内外对该类货物是否有任何限制进行充分考量，仔细选择恰当的准据法，最大限度减少纠纷产生。

In an era of global economic integration, where countries are increasingly economically interdependent and the flow of goods, services, capital and technology across borders is increasing, there is a greater need for a better standard form to assist maritime traders to save on transaction costs and to reduce the disputes that may arise in trading, so as to bring greater benefits to both parties to the transaction.

在全球经济一体化时代，各国之间在经济上越来越多地相互依存，商品、服务、资本和技术跨国流通越来越普遍，更加完善的格式文本，无疑将帮助海上贸易的交易者缩小分歧，节约交易成本，给交易双方带来更高的效益。

GENCON is the most widely used standard voyage charter party in the global dry bulk industry, and is one of the most successful standard charterparty published by BIMCO in its 100-year history. In order to adapt to the afore-mentioned changes and promote the sustainable development of the shipping industry, BIMCO initiated the revision of the GENCON form in 2017, which has taken nearly five years to complete by 2022.

金康合同（GENCON）是全球范围内干散货贸易中使用最多的航次租约范本格式，也是BIMCO百年来发布的最为成功的租约范本之一。为顺应前述变革，更好地促进航运业的持续发展，波罗的海国际航运公会（BIMCO）于2017年启动金康合同的修订工作，历时超过4年，到2022年终于完成。

Considering the content, GENCON 2022 covers most of the standard clauses and terms that parties are expecting to see in a modern charterparty. Some modifications which are more representative are listed here and explained as follows.

从内容上看，GENCON 2022涵盖了当事人希望在现代租船合同中看到的绝大多数标准条款，现列举其中部分比较有代表性的修改内容，并为大家一一解读。

Clause 2 “Owners' Responsibilities” in GENCON2022 is a complete revision to Clause 2 in GENCON 1994 and the new clause limits the scope of the shipowner's obligations and clarifies the rights, defences, exclusions, limitations and limitations of liability available to the shipowner under Hague Visby Rules. The scope is also more clearly extended to other liabilities (loss, damage, delay or failure to perform) including damage to the goods, unless the shipowner has not fulfilled the obligation to provide the ship under Clause 2(a)(i).

第2条“船东责任”。该条款对GENCON 1994原文进行了全面修订，新条款限定了船东的义务范围，明确了船东可以享受海牙维斯比规则下的权利、抗辩、免责、时效及责任限制，并且更明确地将范围扩大到包括货损在内的其他责任（灭失、损坏、延误或者履行不能），除非船东没有满足第二条（a）（i）项规定的提供船舶的义务。

Clause 3"Cargo", a completely new clause in GENCON 2022, sets out the charterers’ obligations in respect of the cargo, and distinguishes the types of cargos (bulk cargo, part cargo, cargo harmful to the marine environment) and proposes a specific allocation of rights and obligations.

第3条“货物”，是GENCON 2022的一个全新条款。该条款规定了租家关于货物的义务，并按照货物种类（散装货、拼装货、对海洋环境有污染的货物）进行区分且提出了具体的权责分配方式。

Clause 4 "Loading and Discharging", which was previously contained in Clause 5 of GENCON 1994, has been significantly amended to make it clear that the charterers shall be responsible for loading and discharging the cargo under the supervision of the Master, and for shouldering the duties and responsibilities of safe loading and discharging, and that the charterers shall bear any additional costs arising from the need to ensure the safe loading and discharging of the vessel. It is also stipulated that the charterers shall be responsible for any damage (other than reasonable wear and tear) to any part of the vessel caused by the stevedore.

第4条“装货和卸货”。原载明于GENCON 1994的第5条，新条款做了很大修改，明确要求租家应在船长的监督下负责装卸货，承担安全配载的义务和责任，并约定如果因为需要确保船装卸货安全而产生额外费用，由租家承担。另外还规定了租家应对装卸工人造成的船舶任何部位损坏（合理磨损除外）负责。

Clause 9 "Notice of Readiness" clarifies that the shipowners may tender the NOR in port, or at a designated place, the customary anchorage, or elsewhere, and even if they cannot berth at the designated berth upon arrival in port or at the designated place, they have the right to tender the NOR at any waiting place and laytime shall then count. Even if the holds were subsequently to fail the initial inspection, laytime and time on demurrage shall still be calculated if the NOR is tendered and the ship is waiting at berth. Furthermore, only such time as is actually lost until the Vessel is found after a subsequent joint re-inspection to be ready to load shall not count as laytime or time on demurrage. (Clause 9 (c)).

第9条“准备就绪通知书”。该条款明确了船东可以在港内，或者指定地点、习惯锚地等地点递交NOR，即使抵达港口或者指定地点后无法靠泊指定泊位，也有权在任何等候地点递交NOR，并开始计算装卸时间。即使验舱未通过，如果NOR已递交，船在等泊，仍然可以计算装卸时间和滞期费。并且在二次验舱通过前的时间内，只有实际损失的时间可以从装卸时间中扣除［第9条（c）项］。

Clause 12 "The Running of Laytime" states that the charterers shall provide a full set of cargo documents within 3 hours after completion of loading, otherwise the extended time shall count as laytime or time on demurrage.

第12条“装卸时间计算条款”。该条款规定租家应在装货完成后3小时内提供全套货物单证，否则延长的时间需算入装卸时间或滞期时间。

Clause 16 "Suspension and Termination" is a new clause, which gives the shipowners a new right, in addition to the lien on the goods, to suspend the contract or even terminate the charterparty with the charterers being liable for damages if the charterers fail to pay the sums (freight, deadfreight, demurrage or other compensation) within the agreed period. In order to avoid termination of the charterparty by the shipowners, the charterers may choose to provide a guarantee. Furthermore, if the shipowners exercise their rights under the charterparty and incur liability to a third party (e.g. the holder of the bill of lading), the charterers shall indemnify the shipowners for the corresponding loss. When there is a risk of arrest or detention of the vessel, the charterers should immediately provide security to avoid any delays to the vessel, otherwise the charterers should pay compensation to the shipowners at the demurrage rate.

第16条“中止与终止”。该条款系本次修订新增，赋予了船东除货物留置权外的一项新的权利，即当租家未能在约定的期限内支付款项（运费、亏舱费、滞期费或其他赔偿）时，船东有权中止履行合同，甚至终止租约，并由租家承担损失赔偿。为避免船东终止租约，租家可以选择提供担保。而且，若船东行使租约下的权利，对第三方（如提单持有人）产生了责任，租家应赔偿船东相应的损失。当船舶出现被扣押或滞留的风险时，租家应立即提供担保，避免延误船期，否则租家应按滞期费标准向船东支付赔偿。

Clause 18 "General Exceptions Clause" provides that neither the Vessel nor the Owners nor the Charterers, nor their respective servants, agents or subcontractors, shall, unless otherwise expressly provided in this Charter Party, be responsible for loss of or damage or delay to or failure to supply, load, discharge or deliver the Cargo as a result of the following events unless they can reasonably be avoided or guarded against: Act of God; act of war; act of public enemies, act of pirates or assailing thieves; arrest or restraint of princes, rulers or people; seizure under legal process (other than when caused by the breach of obligations relating to this Charter Party), provided that reasonable steps are taken to furnish adequate security promptly to release the Vessel or Cargo; floods; fires; blockades; riots; insurrections; civil commotions; earthquakes; explosions; infectious or contagious disease; or any other similar event. However, nothing in this Clause shall interrupt the running of laytime or time on demurrage nor relieve the Charterers of, nor diminish their obligation for, payment of any sum that is due to the Owners under this Charter Party.

第18条“一般除外条款”。该条款规定了船舶、船东、租家及各自雇员、代理或分包商均不对下列事件导致的货物损失、损害、延误或未提供、装载、卸载或交付负责，包括天灾、战争、公敌、海盗或劫掠行为，国王、统治者或人民扣押或限制，按法律程序没收（违反本租约引起者除外）且已采取合理措施立即提供充分担保使船舶或货物获释，以及洪水、火灾、封锁、暴乱、叛乱、民众骚乱、地震、爆炸、感染或传染病等任何其他类似事件。除非其可合理避免或抵御。然而，本条相关事项不应打断装卸时间或滞期时间计算，也不解除或减轻租家按本租约向船东支付任何款项的义务。

This clause is in fact similar to Clause 2 of GENCON 1994, which provides very broad protection for the shipowners in respect of loss, damage or delay to the cargo, and generally provides that they will only be liable for the shipowners’ or managers’ own negligence or failure to perform their duties. Although the name of the clause is Owners’ Responsibility Clause, it is also often referred to as an exception clause. Clause 2 of GENCON 1994 is favourable for shipowners, but it does not provide any protection for charterers. GENCON 2022 attempts to strike a reasonable balance by amending this clause.

该条款其实与GENCON 1994的第2条相似，GENCON 1994在货物损失、损坏或延误方面为船东提供了非常广泛的保护，一般来说，其只会对船舶所有人或管理人本人的过失或者不履行职责承担责任，虽然该条款的名称为船东的责任，但它通常也被称为例外条款。GENCON 1994 的第2条对船东来说是有利的，但其中并没有为租家提供任何保护。GENCON 2022试图通过修改该条款达成合理的平衡。

Recently, with the changes in the international trade, countries often impose export bans on certain goods or import restrictions on goods from certain countries. Such disputes in trade often result in a delay to ship's berthing schedule at ports of loading or discharge. In most cases, dominant charterers invoke "force majeure" as a defence to demurrage caused thereby.

近期，随着国际贸易局势的变化，各国经常会针对某类货物颁发出口禁令或者针对某国货物采取进口限制。这类因贸易产生的纠纷，往往会造成船舶在装港或者卸港等泊，强势的租家往往会援用“不可抗力”的概念要求不承担由此产生的一些滞期损失。

A case in point is a recent dispute on demurrage we handled. The shipowners and the charterers entered into a charterparty for the shipowner's vessel to load cargo from a country for export to China, but during the loading process, the exporting country issued an export ban on the cargo in question, prohibiting the exporter from exporting, which resulted in the charterer’s being unable to obtain export documents. This situation lasted for nearly 20 days before the charterer obtained the export documents until then laytime ceased to count, resulting in a dispute between the parties, with the shipowner claiming demurrage from the charterer for the period when the vessel was waiting for these documents. There was a "force majeure clause" in the charterparty between the parties, which provides: "Any loss of time due to any of the following causes, shall not count as laytime or time on demurrage whether the vessel is on demurrage or not. Time when the force majeure event lasts including but not limited to time for strikes, lockouts or restrictions on labour, shall not count as laytime." The charterparty is governed by Hong Kong law.

以我们近期处理的一起滞期费纠纷为例。船东与租家签订租约，承租船东船舶从某国装货出口运往中国，但在装货过程中，出口国颁布涉案货物的出口禁令，禁止出口商出口涉案货物，由此导致租家无法获得出口文件。这种状态持续了近20天租家才获得出口文件，船东的装卸时间才得以止算，因此双方产生滞期费纠纷，船东要求租家向其支付等待文件期间的滞期费。双方签订的租约中存在“不可抗力条款”，其中约定：“任何由下列任何原因造成时间损失的，无论船舶是否已经滞期，不得计入装卸时间和滞期时间。不可抗力事件所发生的时间，包括但不限于罢工、停工或限制劳动，不应算作LAYTIME（装卸时间）。”该租约适用香港法律体系。

One of the disputes the parties focused on was whether the export trade ban of the exporting country fell within the scope of force majeure and whether the charterer was exempted from liability to pay demurrage by virtue of the force majeure clause in the charterparty. The shipowner argued that a similar trade ban had been imposed by the exporting country prior to the current shipment, so the situation existed in the exporting country prior to the conclusion of the charterparty and was therefore not unforeseeable. Furthermore, under Hong Kong law, if a charterer wishes to invoke force majeure to claim exemption from demurrage, there needs to be a clear statement of such an export ban in the charterparty, otherwise the charterer would not be entitled to denial on the liability to pay demurrage.

双方的争议焦点之一在于出口国的出口贸易禁令是否属于不可抗力，租家是否可以依据合同中的不可抗力条款免于承担滞期费责任。船东认为，涉案出口国曾在本次货物装运前实施过类似的贸易禁令，双方在签订租约前出口国就存在此种情况，因此这并非属于无法预见的情形。另外，在香港法下，如果租家希望援引不可抗力去主张免除滞期费，租约中需要有明确的列示，将此等出口禁令明确约定在租约中，否则无权不履行滞期费义务。

The charterers argued that the export ban imposed by the government was the reason why the goods could not leave the port on time and that it was a situation that could not be foreseen by the parties and should fall within the scope of force majeure. Although the clause did not explicitly list such a ban as one of force majeure events, the expression "including but not limited to" in the terms of the charterparty had covered such circumstances.

租家认为，政府颁布的出口禁令是导致货物无法按时出港的原因，且属于双方无法预料的情形，应当属于不可抗力。虽然条款中没有明确将此等禁令列为不可抗力的情形之一，但合同条款中“包括但不限于”的表述已经能把这种情形包括在内。

Although the case was ultimately settled by mediation between the parties, we believe that the facts and issues in this case are of greater relevance to the shipowners and the charterers. Under Chinese law, force majeure refers to objective circumstances that cannot be foreseen, avoided and overcome. Where Chinese law applies, it is possible that the charterer will be awarded no liability on demurrage. However, under Hong Kong law, there is a preference of view that force majeure is not a principle of law and that force majeure events need to be clearly set out. If it is not stated that the shipowner is liable for the time the ship waits at berth due to trade friction, then the charterer is still liable for the demurrage.

虽然最终本案以双方调解结案，但我们认为本案的事实和争议点对于船东和租家具有较大的参考意义。在中国法下，不可抗力是指不能预见、不能避免且不能克服的客观情况。在适用中国法的情况下，租家有可能被裁决不承担滞期损失。但在普通法下，偏向于认为不可抗力并非法律原则，对不可抗力事件需要明确的列明。如果没有列明因为贸易摩擦的原因导致船舶等泊时间由船东承担，那么仍然由租家承担相关滞期损失。

In the light of the foregoing dispute and the content of Clause 18, GENCON 2022, we can tentatively conclude that if GENCON 2022 were to apply, the charterer would not be able to rely on the general exceptions clause to relieve itself of liability for demurrage, this is because the clause expressly states that “Nothing in this Clause shall interrupt the running of laytime or time on demurrage nor relieve the Charterers of, nor diminish their obligation for, payment of any sum that is due to the Owners under this Charter Party.” It can be seen, that in case of trade restriction, GENCON 2022 is in favor of the shipowners, as to relevant clauses and terms which are clearer.

结合前述争议，以及GENCON 2022第18条的内容，我们可以初步判断，如果适用GENCON 2022，由于条款明确规定“相关事项不应打断装卸时间或滞期时间计算，也不解除或减轻租家按本租约向船东支付任何款项的义务”，因此租家无法依据一般除外条款，免除己方承担的滞期费责任。由此可见，单从GENCON 2022的条款来说，就贸易限制禁令的情形，还是倾向于对船东的保护，且表述更为明确。

Of course, other clauses of GENCON 2022, do not deal with allocation of liability between the shipowners and the charterers when "unforeseen" events occur, such as floods, fire, blockade, riots, rebellion, Acts of God, and the like. Therefore, for both parties, the risks in this area still need to be clarified through additional clauses. How to apply the applicable law and how to draft the "force majeure" clause is very important to both the shipowners and the charterers.

当然，GENCON 2022的其他条款并未对类似洪水、火灾、封锁、暴乱、叛乱、天灾等“意料之外”的事件发生时船货双方责任分配的问题进行规定。因此，对于双方来说，这方面的风险仍然需要通过附加条款予以明确，如何适用准据法以及如何书写“不可抗力”条款对船东和租家都非常重要。 

金康租约作为全球使用范围最广的程租标准合同，全球大部分干散货和杂货的海上货物运输合同均在金康租约的基础上进行调整、谈判和签订。金康租约中的定义和规定，已然成为干散货租船的国际规则和行业惯例。为了应对海事规范和安全领域的变化，BIMCO更新了GENCON 1994以便反映当下航运实务的商业和法律要求,GENCON 2022涵盖了交易各方需要以附加条款的方式并入的所有条件和条款，缩短和简化了企业在缔约过程中的洽谈时间和程序。

Considering that GENCON 2022 has undergone significant changes and can basically be considered as a completely new form of charterparty, we suggest that relevant parties  take, before applying it, into account the actual place of performance of the charter, the goods to be transported and whether there are any restrictions on such goods at the time, both domestically and internationally, and to carefully choose the appropriate governing law so as to reduce disputes to the greatest extent.

考虑到本次GENCON 2022变化较大，基本可以视为一种全新的租约格式。我们建议各方在适用前，结合租约的实际履行地点、运输的货物以及当时的国内外对该类货物是否有任何限制进行充分考量，仔细选择恰当的准据法，最大限度减少纠纷产生。