PRESS RELEASE
BIMCO publishes much anticipated GUARDCON Contract
28 March 2012 - BIMCO is pleased to announce the publication of the GUARDCON standard contract
for the employment of security guards on vessels. This brand new contract has been developed toprovide ship owners and private maritime security companies (PMSC) with a clearly worded andcomprehensive standard contract to govern the employment and use of security guards, with orwithout firearms, on board merchant vessels. While BIMCO would not like to see the use of armed
security guards on ships becoming institutionalised, it recognises that while the industry awaits amore permanent long term solution, armed guards currently provide an effective deterrent to piracy
attacks.
BIMCO’s Chief Officer Legal and Contractual Affairs, Grant Hunter said “In response to ship owners’
increasing demand for security services, an ever growing number of private maritime security
companies have entered the market to meet that demand. In the absence of a standard contract forthese services, ship owners and their P&I Clubs are currently faced with the difficult and timeconsuming task of assessing large numbers of contracts from these security companies, all withvarying terms and conditions. GUARDCON’s objective is to create a contractual benchmark for theemployment of security services so that minimum levels of insurance cover for PMSCs are
established and that adequate safeguards are put in place to ensure that liabilities andresponsibilities are properly addressed and that all necessary permits and licenses are obtained.”
According to BIMCO Deputy Secretary General, Søren Larsen, “GUARDCON has been drafted in just alittle over three months by a small group of experts drawn from ship owners, underwriters, P&I
Clubs and lawyers with first-hand experience of working with contracts for security services. The
speed at which GUARDCON has been drafted is a considerable credit to the drafting group whosemembers devoted many long hours free of charge to the project.”
The members of the drafting team are Tor Langrud, Wilhelmsen, Norway (Chairman); Daniel Carr,Stolt-Nielsen, USA; Chris South, West of England P&I Club; Andrew Moulton, Ascot Underwriters;
Stephen Askins, Ince & Co; and ElinorDautlich, Holman Fenwick Willan.
The drafting work was not however conducted in isolation; consultations were conducted with
PMSCs and insurance underwriters during the process and the drafts were also carefully scrutinisedby members of the International Group of P&I Clubs. BIMCO’s own influential Documentary
Committee also played their usual essential role by thoroughly reviewing GUARDCON to ensure it
met the standards expected of a BIMCO standard contract.
BIMCO has also published Guidance on the Rules for the Use of Force (RUF) to accompany
GUARDCONwhich will undoubtedly be of great assistance to owners and private maritime security
companies when drawing up and agreeing RUF for their own purposes.
Sample copies of the GUARDCON contract, with detailed Explanatory Notes, and the Guidance on
the Rules of the Use of Force can be obtained through BIMCO (www.bimco.org).

Contact person:
Mr Grant Hunter
Chief Officer Legal and Contractual Affairs
Tel: +45 44 36 68 00
Direct:+44 56 02 05 16 01
E-mail: gh@bimco.org
Web: www.bimco.org