Yacht Charter Parties 2020: what to stipulate in autumn?

In the framework of regular services for one of our Client’s commercial yachts, Interlegal supported conclusion of Charter Parties in autumn 2020.

Charter Parties are based on standard proformas of the yacht chartering contracts drafted by Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association. With regards to changes in global epidemiological situation due to spread of COVID-19, which occurred from the moment of concluding Charter Parties in February, most of the contracts faced threat of their cancelation, while the standard proforma itself did not treat epidemic situations as force majeure.

For a few months before commencement of charter, the Charterer proposed the Shipowner to conclude annexes to contracts, fixing legal effects of cancelling Charter Parties due to their non-fulfillment caused by COVID-19.
Interlegal lawyers studied the proposed annex, analyzed risks and compared legal effects of cancelling the contracts both by the Shipowner and by the Charterer, under the current contract and amendments set forth in the annexes.

They granted to the Client detailed analysis of possible risks and advantages of such annex, jointly with recommendations upon further actions. Finally, the Client decided to conclude the proposed annexes, having secured itself against potential risks, such as impossibility to deliver the yacht to the venue of the Charter Party performance, impossibility to embark the crew members due to restrictions in travel between the countries and restrictions in vessel calls.

Interlegal lawyer Valeria Fetysenko and senior associate Kirina Riashentseva led the project.