해양구조물 건조계약상 공사변경(Change Order) 실무에 관한 연구

A Study on several issues related to the Change Order Claims in Offshore EPC Contracts

Recently most of the offshore construction contracts have been in the type of EPC Turnkey contract. Therefore, there would be a lot of Change Order Claims in the course of engineering, procurement and construction. The question of whether it deserve a Change Order is closely linked to the matter of whether it is within the scope of work of Contractor under the offshore construction contract. Since all the outputs of the construction are originated from the design & engineering it is of importance to know who is responsible for the design & engineering. Normally Contractor makes an amendment agreement for the transfer of all responsibilities over the design & engineering after its reviewing the basic design and FEED design delivered by Owner following the contract award. In that point, Contractor definitely has to take over the responsibilities stem from the only design, engineering and information delivered by Owner. If the Contractor’s scope of work described in a prevailing document is obscure or is very widespread it is very necessary for the Contractor to clarify its scope of work in phase of contract negotiation as the Change Order can not be allowed in circumstances where its work is within the Contractor’s work scope under the original offshore construction contract. As effects of Change Order either Contract price could be adjusted or construction period could be extended accordingly. It should be noted that observation of the procedural requirement for Change Order Request is very crucial in order for the Contractor not to be disqualified from that claim. We examine the confusing cases where work from Change Order is within the Contractor’s work scope under the original contract and also considering a few points that Contractor needs to be aware of thereon. In this article, the study on several problems arising practically from Change Order may provide good guidance for Korean shipbuilders who have been recently suffering from heavy deficit due to offshore construction contracts.