8.1 Introduction: standard form contracts and English law

The business of the sale and purchase of second-hand trading ships is routinely conducted on or by reference to a standard form contract. Various forms are in common currency. Perhaps the most commonly encountered in English legal practice is the Saleform (commonly referred to as the Norwegian Saleform or ‘NSF’2), first adopted by the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) in 1956 and then the subject of periodic revisions3 culminating in the latest version of the form, Saleform 2012. Others in common use include Nipponsale 93, produced by the Japan Shipping Exchange Documentary Committee. A recent addition to the corpus is the Singapore Ship Sale Form 2011 or ‘SSF’ launched by the Singapore Maritime Foundation.