Bimco has developed a standard form covering sale-and-purchase deposit agreements.
It says the "standard deposit escrow agreement for ship sale and purchase" is designed to fill a gap in the absence of standard market contracts for depositing money.
Bimco says that the current situation means parties are left to draft agreements on an individual basis.
It says in a statement: “In recent years, it has become increasingly common for law firms and brokers, as opposed to banks, to act as deposit holders for buyers until delivery of the ship.”
