A smart contract sits on the blockchain network and responds automatically to certain “trigger” events. This means that smart contracts not only set out the terms and conditions of an agreement in the same way as a traditional contract, but also automatically enforces those obligations. BIMCO can only guess what the future holds for charter parties and other shipping industry contracts. The standard terms and conditions they provide will certainly make the task of contracting easier, but they are essentially an inanimate body of words. One of the drivers behind the development of SmartCon has been the ambition to increase the distribution and use of BIMCO contracts. SmartCon is the start of a process by BIMCO to investigate how charter parties and other maritime contracts might be used in the future. Making sure that people can easily obtain authentic copies of BIMCO contracts is one important aspect.