ARTICLE 1
1.1. - BUREAU VERITAS is a Society the purpose of whose Marine & Offshore Division (the "Society") is
the classification (" Classification ") of any ship or vessel or offshore unit or structure of any type or part of
it or system therein collectively hereinafter referred to as a "Unit" whether linked to shore, river bed or sea
bed or not, whether operated or located at sea or in inland waters or partly on land, including submarines,
hovercrafts, drilling rigs, offshore installations of any type and of any purpose, their related and ancillary
equipment, subsea or not, such as well head and pipelines, mooring legs and mooring points or otherwise
as decided by the Society.
The Society:
• "prepares and publishes Rules for classification, Guidance Notes and other documents (" Rules ");
• "issues Certificates, Attestations and Reports following its interventions (" Certificates ");
• "publishes Registers.
1.2. - The Society also participates in the application of National and International Regulations or Stand-
ards, in particular by delegation from different Governments. Those activities are hereafter collectively re-
ferred to as " Certification ".
1.3. - The Society can also provide services related to Classification and Certification such as ship and
company safety management certification; ship and port security certification, training activities; all activi-
ties and duties incidental thereto such as documentation on any supporting means, software, instrumen-
tation, measurements, tests and trials on board.
1.4. - The interventions mentioned in 1.1., 1.2. and 1.3. are referred to as " Services ". The party and/or its
representative requesting the services is hereinafter referred to as the " Client ". The Services are pre-
pared and carried out on the assumption that the Clients are aware of the International Maritime
and/or Offshore Industry (the "Industry") practices.
1.5. - The Society is neither and may not be considered as an Underwriter, Broker in ship's sale or char-
tering, Expert in Unit's valuation, Consulting Engineer, Controller, Naval Architect, Manufacturer, Ship-
builder, Repair yard, Charterer or Shipowner who are not relieved of any of their expressed or implied
obligations by the interventions of the Society.
ARTICLE 2
2.1. - Classification is the appraisement given by the Society for its Client, at a certain date, following sur-
veys by its Surveyors along the lines specified in Articles 3 and 4 hereafter on the level of compliance of
a Unit to its Rules or part of them. This appraisement is represented by a class entered on the Certificates
and periodically transcribed in the Society's Register.
2.2. - Certification is carried out by the Society along the same lines as set out in Articles 3 and 4 hereafter
and with reference to the applicable National and International Regulations or Standards.
2.3. - It is incumbent upon the Client to maintain the condition of the Unit after surveys, to present
the Unit for surveys and to inform the Society without delay of circumstances which may affect the
given appraisement or cause to modify its scope.
2.4. - The Client is to give to the Society all access and information necessary for the safe and efficient
performance of the requested Services. The Client is the sole responsible for the conditions of presenta-
tion of the Unit for tests, trials and surveys and the conditions under which tests and trials are carried out.
ARTICLE 3
3.1. - The Rules, procedures and instructions of the Society take into account at the date of their
preparation the state of currently available and proven technical knowledge of the Industry. They
are a collection of minimum requirements but not a standard or a code of construction neither a
guide for maintenance, a safety handbook or a guide of professional practices, all of which are
assumed to be known in detail and carefully followed at all times by the Client.
Committees consisting of personalities from the Industry contribute to the development of those docu-
ments.
3.2. - The Society only is qualified to apply its Rules and to interpret them. Any reference to them
has no effect unless it involves the Society's intervention.
3.3. - The Services of the Society are carried out by professional Surveyors according to the applicable
Rules and to the Code of Ethics of the Society. Surveyors have authority to decide locally on matters re-
lated to classification and certification of the Units, unless the Rules provide otherwise.
3.4.
-
The operations of the Society in providing its Services are exclusively conducted by way of ran-
dom inspections and do not in any circumstances involve monitoring or exhaustive verification.
ARTICLE 4
4.1. - The Society, acting by reference to its Rules:
• "reviews the construction arrangements of the Units as shown on the documents presented by the Cli-
ent;
• "conducts surveys at the place of their construction;
• "classes Units and enters their class in its Register;
• "surveys periodically the Units in service to note that the requirements for the maintenance of class are
met.
The Client is to inform the Society without delay of circumstances which may cause the date or the
extent of the surveys to be changed.
ARTICLE 5
5.1. - The Society acts as a provider of services. This cannot be construed as an obligation bearing
on the Society to obtain a result or as a warranty.
5.2.
-
The certificates issued by the Society pursuant to 5.1. here above are a statement on the level
of compliance of the Unit to its Rules or to the documents of reference for the Services provided for.
In particular, the Society does not engage in any work relating to the design, building, production
or repair checks, neither in the operation of the Units or in their trade, neither in any advisory serv-
ices, and cannot be held liable on those accounts. Its certificates cannot be construed as an im-
plied or express warranty of safety, fitness for the purpose, seaworthiness of the Unit or of its value
for sale, insurance or chartering.
5.3. - The Society does not declare the acceptance or commissioning of a Unit, nor of its construc-
tion in conformity with its design, that being the exclusive responsibility of its owner or builder.
5.4. - The Services of the Society cannot create any obligation bearing on the Society or constitute any
warranty of proper operation, beyond any representation set forth in the Rules, of any Unit, equipment or
machinery, computer software of any sort or other comparable concepts that has been subject to any sur-
vey by the Society.
ARTICLE 6
6.1. - The Society accepts no responsibility for the use of information related to its Services which was not
provided for the purpose by the Society or with its assistance.
6.2. - If the Services of the Society or their omission cause to the Client a damage which is proved
to be the direct and reasonably foreseeable consequence of an error or omission of the Society,
its liability towards the Client is limited to ten times the amount of fee paid for the Service having
caused the damage, provided however that this limit shall be subject to a minimum of eight thou-
sand (8,000) Euro, and to a maximum which is the greater of eight hundred thousand (800,000)
Euro and one and a half times the above mentioned fee. These limits apply regardless of fault in-
cluding breach of contract, breach of warranty, tort, strict liability, breach of statute, etc.
The Society bears no liability for indirect or consequential loss whether arising naturally or not as
a consequence of the Services or their omission such as loss of revenue, loss of profit, loss of pro-
duction, loss relative to other contracts and indemnities for termination of other agreements.
6.3. - All claims are to be presented to the Society in writing within three months of the date when the Serv-
ices were supplied or (if later) the date when the events which are relied on of were first known to the Client,
and any claim which is not so presented shall be deemed waived and absolutely barred. Time is to be in-
terrupted thereafter with the same periodicity.
ARTICLE 7
7.1. - Requests for Services are to be in writing.
7.2. - Either the Client or the Society can terminate as of right the requested Services after giving
the other party thirty days' written notice, for convenience, and without prejudice to the provisions
in Article 8 hereunder.
7.3. - The class granted to the concerned Units and the previously issued certificates remain valid until the
date of effect of the notice issued according to 7.2. here above subject to compliance with 2.3. here above
and Article 8 hereunder.
7.4. - The contract for classification and/or certification of a Unit cannot be transferred neither assigned.
ARTICLE 8
8.1. - The Services of the Society, whether completed or not, involve, for the part carried out, the payment
of fee upon receipt of the invoice and the reimbursement of the expenses incurred.
8.2. - Overdue amounts are increased as of right by interest in accordance with the applicable leg-
islation.
8.3. - The class of a Unit may be suspended in the event of non-payment of fee after a first unfruitful
notification to pay.
ARTICLE 9
9.1. - The documents and data provided to or prepared by the Society for its Services, and the information
available to the Society, are treated as confidential. However:
• "Clients have access to the data they have provided to the Society and, during the period of classifica-
tion of the Unit for them, to the classification file consisting of survey reports and certificates which
have been prepared at any time by the Society for the classification of the Unit ;
• "copy of the documents made available for the classification of the Unit and of available survey reports
can be handed over to another Classification Society, where appropriate, in case of the Unit's transfer
of class;
• "the data relative to the evolution of the Register, to the class suspension and to the survey status of
the Units, as well as general technical information related to hull and equipment damages, may be
passed on to IACS (International Association of Classification Societies) according to the association
working rules;
• "the certificates, documents and information relative to the Units classed with the Society may be
reviewed during certificating bodies audits and are disclosed upon order of the concerned governmen-
tal or inter-governmental authorities or of a Court having jurisdiction.
The documents and data are subject to a file management plan.
ARTICLE 10
10.1. - Any delay or shortcoming in the performance of its Services by the Society arising from an event
not reasonably foreseeable by or beyond the control of the Society shall be deemed not to be a breach of
contract.
ARTICLE 11
11.1. - In case of diverging opinions during surveys between the Client and the Society's surveyor, the So-
ciety may designate another of its surveyors at the request of the Client.
11.2. - Disagreements of a technical nature between the Client and the Society can be submitted by the
Society to the advice of its Marine Advisory Committee.
ARTICLE 12
12.1. - Disputes over the Services carried out by delegation of Governments are assessed within the
framework of the applicable agreements with the States, international Conventions and national rules.
12.2. - Disputes arising out of the payment of the Society's invoices by the Client are submitted to the Court
of Nanterre, France, or to another Court as deemed fit by the Society.
12.3. - Other disputes over the present General Conditions or over the Services of the Society are
exclusively submitted to arbitration, by three arbitrators, in London according to the Arbitration
Act 1996 or any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof. The contract between the Society
and the Client shall be governed by English law.
ARTICLE 13
13.1. - These General Conditions constitute the sole contractual obligations binding together the
Society and the Client, to the exclusion of all other representation, statements, terms, conditions
whether express or implied. They may be varied in writing by mutual agreement. They are not var-
ied by any purchase order or other document of the Client serving similar purpose.
13.2. - The invalidity of one or more stipulations of the present General Conditions does not affect the va-
lidity of the remaining provisions.
13.3. - The definitions herein take precedence over any definitions serving the same purpose which may
appear in other documents issued by the Society.
BV Mod. Ad. ME 545 L - 7 January 2013
MARINE & OFFSHORE DIVISION
GENERAL CONDITIONS
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