ABSTRACT
The primary purpose of the introduction or “preamble” to the shipbuilding contract is to identify the buyer and the builder. The preamble will usually also set out the scope of the project to which the parties have agreed, reciting in general terms their respective obligations to build and purchase the vessel, and identifying the shipyard at which her construction is to be undertaken. The preamble to the SAJ Form states that the builder shall “build, launch, equip and complete” the vessel and thereafter “sell and deliver” her to the buyer. The “box definition” of the “Builder” in the NEWBUILDCON Form clearly assumes the possibility of incorporation of a second entity as a joint contracting party. In such event, the contract may occasionally stipulate that the design risk rests upon the buyer, the builder’s obligation being limited to the construction and assembly of the vessel in accordance with plans and drawings with which it has been supplied.
