Maritime Legal Update
SHIP25 – a fully
revised agreed-form shipbuilding contract for today’s projects
Author: Marek
Czernis
October 2025
1) Introduction
After 25 years of SHIP 2000, Norway’s industry bodies (Norwegian Shipbuilders,
Federation of Norwegian Industries, Norwegian Shipowners’ Association) together
with Nordisk Defence Club unveiled SHIP25—a thoroughly revised agreed-form standard tailored to
current technology, regulation and contracting practice. The aim is to preserve
a balanced allocation of
risks while embedding modern project-management routines and compliance
safeguards.
2) Headline updates
(substantive changes)
A. Project management
– digital access & monthly reporting
- Mandatory electronic access to
drawings/documents for the buyer.
- Structured
scheduling (preliminary → detailed) and monthly progress reports (status, percentage completion
per major components, photos, list of agreed changes, key subcontractors’
status/issues).
- Clarified
duties of buyer’s site team: failure to promptly notify defects may
shift cost/time to
the buyer where caused by missing notice.
B. Liability where the
buyer nominates subcontractors
- As
a rule, builders are liable as for their own acts; SHIP25 introduces a more balanced allocation when
the buyer requires a specific supplier—encouraging at least two alternative supplier
options.
C. Refund guarantees – firmer rules
- Detailed appendix terms (with default
wording if parties do not agree).
- Guarantees
must remain valid until actual delivery;
if not renewed within 45 days from
expiry, the buyer may terminate and call all guarantees.
D. Compliance clauses
(HSE & human rights, anti-bribery, cyber security, sanctions/export
controls)
- HSE
compliance; buyer’s audit rights; incident notification.
- Mutual anti-corruption undertakings.
- Sanctions/export: breach may justify termination;
where termination stems from geopolitical circumstances not caused by
either party, loss-sharing mechanisms
recognise a no-fault reality.
3) Opt-in modules
(contract flexibility)
(i) Design responsibility
- Default:
builder bears full design risk (as in SHIP 2000).
- Optional:
limit the builder’s design liability to the separate design contract—aligning with the
rise of independent design houses; potential price relief and broader yard
competition.
(ii) Progressive title
- Alternative
to classic refund guarantees: buyer takes title progressively as construction advances—subject
to registrability in
the relevant jurisdiction (available in Norway; often unavailable
elsewhere). Keeps hull/materials out of a builder’s insolvency/mortgage
estate.
(iii) Price adjustment toolbox
- Index regulation: price adjusts if the
cumulative increase of the agreed reference index between signing and
delivery exceeds a threshold (sharing extraordinary inflation risk).
- Budget pricing: budget prices for specified
systems/components with a deferred buyer decision; builder supplies
at cost + agreed mark-up if
decided within the window.
4) Dispute resolution
- NOMA Arbitration Rules by default; claims
≤ NOK 5 million under NOMA Fast Track—a pragmatic,
efficient Nordic pathway for shipbuilding disputes.
5) Practical negotiation hotspots
- Scope/standards
for compliance audits and termination
triggers in the sanctions clause.
- Minimum
number/qualification of buyer-nominated suppliers.
- Robustness
and renewal calendar for refund
guarantees; remedies for lapses.
- Parameters
of index regulation (index,
threshold, measurement) and budget-price governance.
- Conditions
for progressive title (registration,
insurance, care & custody risk).
- Project
governance (turnaround times for approvals/comments; definition of
milestones; monthly reporting pack).
6) Availability of the
form
The SHIP25 form
is publicly available for download (PDF
and Word), together with explanatory materials.
7) Conclusion
SHIP25 preserves the Norwegian
tradition of a balanced agreed form while
addressing digital project control, complex supply chains, sanctions regimes
and modern compliance expectations. For shipowners and yards alike, it offers
concrete tools to reduce disputes through
clearer project governance, guarantees and liability architecture.