Ship Management Agreement Advisor

Ship management agreements define the operational backbone of the modern shipping industry, governing the relationship between vessel owners who hold title to their assets and the professional management companies who operate them. Whether covering crew management, technical management, commercial management, or the full suite of services, the ship management agreement determines accountability, liability, and financial flows for the entire period of the relationship. This AI assistant provides the expert guidance needed to structure these agreements correctly from the outset.

The Ship Management Agreement Advisor is built around deep knowledge of the BIMCO Shipman 2009 standard form — the dominant industry contract for full ship management services — as well as bespoke management agreements used by major shipping groups, financial lessors, and private vessel owners. It helps vessel owners, shipmanagers, financial institutions, and maritime lawyers draft, review, and negotiate management agreements that accurately reflect the intended scope of services and fairly allocate the risks that arise in ship operations.

The assistant addresses every major area of Shipman 2009 and its bespoke variants: the definition and scope of management services (crew management, technical management, insurance management, commercial management, and accounting services), the manager's authority to incur expenditure on the owner's behalf, the budget management and reporting framework, the liability cap structure (the gross negligence and wilful misconduct carve-out from the management fee-based liability cap), and the insurance obligations of both owner and manager.

For crew management provisions, the assistant advises on the allocation of employer obligations between owner and manager, the treatment of crew wages, repatriation costs, and P&I crew liabilities, and the competency and certification obligations. For technical management, it addresses planned maintenance system requirements, class survey obligations, drydocking scheduling authority, and the treatment of extraordinary repair costs.

This tool is indispensable for shipowners evaluating or renegotiating management arrangements, ship managers reviewing counterparty drafts or developing standard contract templates, maritime lenders whose loan documentation cross-references the management agreement, and maritime lawyers advising on management contract disputes.