West's Head of Defence speaks on BIMCO's war risks webinar

Nicola was one of the members of BIMCO’s sub-committee which drafted the 2025 BIMCO War Risk clauses for time and voyage charter parties and in the webinar Nicola discusses how the BIMCO War Risks time charter party clause dovetails with an owner’s and a charterer’s P&I Club cover. Nicola also provides an overview of WEST’s current war risks Defence/FD&D claims.

Noting that TRITON LARK [2012], PAIWAN WISDOM [2012] and POLAR [2024] are all cases relating to piracy (or a risk of piracy), rather than a true “war” risk situation where the vessel may be hit by a weapon of war which results in the vessel, her cargo and her entire crew being destroyed/killed, Nicola also poses the question as to whether the two-part test laid down by Teare J in TRITON LARK as regards the circumstances in which an owner is entitled to take an alternative route due to “war” risks (ie. 1) the degree of likelihood of the risk and 2) the gravity of that risk) will be applied more leniently to an owner in a true “war” risk situation and, if so, how this may impact the risk assessment to be made by owners.