In many maritime contracts, such as
charter parties,
contracts for carriage of goods by sea, and
marine insurance policies, the
ship-owner or
ship operator is required to ensure that the ship is
seaworthy. Seaworthiness requires not only that the ship be sound and properly crewed, but also that it be fully fuelled (or "bunkered") at the start of the voyage. If the ship operator wishes to bunker en route, this must be provided for in a written agreement, or the interruption of the voyage may be deemed to be
deviation (a serious
breach of contract). If the vessel runs out of fuel in mid-ocean, this also constitutes serious breach, allowing the insurer to cancel a policy and allowing a
consignee to make a cargo claim. It may also lead to a
salvage operation. The
International Maritime Organisation is an agency of the
United Nations responsible for the prevention of
marine pollution by ships. On 1 January 2020, the agency began enforcing the IMO 2020 regulation of
MARPOL Annex VI to minimise bunkering's environmental impact. == References ==