BIMCO Energy Saving Device Retrofit Addendum Now Available

Adopted in October, Available From 21 October

BIMCO announced on 8 October 2026 that it had adopted the Energy Saving Device Retrofit Addendum 2026, a contractual framework for installing energy-saving devices on ships during a time charter. On 21 October 2026, BIMCO announced that the addendum is now available. Ship & Bunker reported the availability announcement on 22 October.

The Problem It Targets

BIMCO says investment in retrofit projects has often been complicated by a misalignment of commercial interests between owners and charterers. In many cases owners fund the purchase and installation of equipment, while some or all of the operational benefits accrue to charterers during the charter period. According to BIMCO, this has sometimes reduced the incentive to proceed, even where a project could generate significant fuel savings and environmental benefits.

How Installation Time and Costs Are Shared

The addendum does not prescribe a single commercial model. BIMCO says it lets the parties decide how costs and benefits are shared according to the circumstances of each project. Among other things, owners and charterers can agree how to allocate:

• installation costs, expenses and time
• maintenance, calibration and repair costs
• fuel savings
• environmental attributes generated by the device
• performance-based economic benefits arising from operation of the technology

Installation time is therefore one of the items the parties allocate between themselves, alongside installation costs. BIMCO’s public announcements do not describe a default split of that time; it is left to negotiation. The detailed clause wording sits in the addendum and its explanatory notes, which BIMCO makes available to members.

Performance Measurement and Environmental Value

The addendum includes an optional performance assessment regime. Under it, the parties can agree a Performance Assessment Protocol for the specific technology, setting baselines, assessment methods and benefit-sharing mechanisms without writing detailed technical requirements into the contract.

It also has a dedicated framework for environmental attributes. Rather than naming specific schemes, it lets the parties allocate rights, credits, allowances, certificates and similar benefits from environmental schemes relevant to their trading patterns. BIMCO describes the addendum as technology-neutral.

Who Drafted It

A subcommittee representing owners, charterers and P&I insurers developed the addendum with the BIMCO secretariat. “Our objective was to create a practical tool that can help unlock investment in retrofit solutions and support the industry’s decarbonisation efforts,” said Mattias Kjellberg of Stena Rederi AB, chairperson of the subcommittee, in BIMCO’s 21 October announcement.

What It Means for Owners and Charterers

For an owner planning an energy-saving device on a chartered ship, the addendum offers a standard starting point for the conversation with the charterer. It does not settle the commercial terms. Who carries the installation time, how costs are split and how savings are measured still have to be agreed project by project. Heather Johnson of Chevron, a subcommittee member, said in BIMCO’s announcement that the addendum “provides a structured starting point for those discussions”.

Sources

• BIMCO (21 October 2026): https://www.bimco.org/news-insights/bimco-news/2026/10/21-retrofit-addendum/
• BIMCO press release (8 October 2026): https://www.bimco.org/news-insights/press-media/press-releases/2026/1008-retrofitting-clause/
• BIMCO contract page: https://www.bimco.org/contractual-affairs/bimco-contracts/contracts/energy-saving-device-retrofitting-addendum-2026/
• Ship & Bunker: https://shipandbunker.com/news/world/188936-bimco-sets-out-contractual-framework-for-energy-saving-retrofits
• The Maritime Executive: https://maritime-executive.com/article/bimco-adopts-addendum-to-support-investments-in-retrofit-projects

Reviewed by Apeks Marine Editorial Team.