Maritime Legal Update – November 2025
BIMCO: What is expected of the IMO after
MEPC/ES.2?
(outlook following the adjournment of the IMO Net-Zero Framework adoption)
Marek Czernis Law Office | www.czernis.pl
1. Overview
The IMO’s MEPC/ES.2 (14–17 October
2025) adjourned without adopting the IMO Net-Zero Framework
(NZF); the extraordinary session
will reconvene in 12 months. In the meantime, Member States will continue
negotiations on the combined package (GHG fuel-intensity standard plus a
pricing & reward mechanism).
According
to BIMCO’s comments
reported by SAFETY4SEA, the most important takeaway is procedural: the session did not switch from
the long-standing tacit acceptance procedure to explicit
acceptance for convention amendments. Tacit acceptance has been IMO’s norm
for ~50 years when amending MARPOL or SOLAS; no
decision does not set a precedent, and a well-functioning IMO process remains
paramount for global shipping.
2. Regulatory context and expected IMO steps
- Reconvening in 2026, with
intersessional work (ISWG-GHG) to refine the NZF text and accompanying
guidelines.
- NZF architecture unchanged:
a GHG fuel/energy-intensity standard plus a global pricing & reward
mechanism.
- Parallel agenda items (e.g.,
possible new SOx/PM/NOx ECA designation) continue through standard MARPOL
amendment channels.
- Market implication: a year of uncertainty for investment timing and
fuel choices until the adoption path is clear.
3. Contractual & legal implications
(acceptance procedures)
- Tacit vs explicit acceptance.
Retaining the tacit acceptance pathway means, once adopted, MARPOL/SOLAS amendments should enter into force on predictable timelines, unless states object—historically allowing faster implementation. For contracts, this supports more reliable regulatory milestone planning. - Drafting under a one-year
adjournment.
– Ensure change-in-law mechanics across charterparties, ship-management, fuel/energy supply and finance documents, referencing both current instruments and “adopted but not yet in force” amendments.
– Build contingency clauses (long-stop dates, reopeners/re-pricing) in transactions sensitive to the NZF timeline.
– Expect MAC/MAE and frustration/force majeure debates where projects hinged on a fixed 2025 adoption date.
4. Practical checklist for owners and operators
- Compliance mapping against
in-force MARPOL and pending adoption NZF proposals.
- Embed change-in-law provisions
in commercial and finance documents.
- Fuel pathway scenarios
2026–2035—stress-test exposure to future GHG intensity thresholds and
global pricing.
- Track ISWG-GHG work and
industry briefs (BIMCO, LR/DNV) and update fleet CAPEX accordingly.
Sources
- SAFETY4SEA – BIMCO: What is expected of the IMO after MEPC/ES.2?,
23 Oct 2025. SAFETY4SEA
- IMO – IMO
net-zero shipping talks to resume in 2026; MEPC/ES.2 – Meeting
Summary. imo.org+1
- SAFETY4SEA – IMO MEPC/ES.2: Key outcomes; Industry
faces year of uncertainty…. SAFETY4SEA+1
- DNV / LR Briefs – outcome analyses of MEPC/ES.2. DNV+1