A global survey of brokers, charterers and operators found that 96% of respondents thought that having standards lists and formats for ports, cargoes and vessel descriptions would help their businesses perform more efficiently.
More than two thirds (68%) said that improving data standards was a top priority but only a quarter (26%) felt the industry was currently doing enough to strengthen data standards in chartering processes.
“Our industry is behind the curve when it comes to setting industry-wide standards for how we collect, use and share data in our chartering workflows,” said Peter Schroder, chief executive at Sea.
“Greater standardisation would not only be of benefit to individual organisations – the lack of industry-wide standards invalidates much of the non-competitive, mutually beneficial data that could be used to improve the whole industry, including in critical areas such as sustainability,” he added.
Sea believes that companies can reduce the time it takes to fully execute a contract by 26% by sharing a single online, standardised data platform.
Christian Vinther Christiansen, chief operating officer at Norden, an operator of dry cargo vessels and MR Tanker vessels, agreed. “Before we worked with Sea, our processes for the volume of documentation we deal with needed an overhaul, to make sure they supported our overall digital strategy,” he said.
“Working with Sea’s platform ensures that our recaps and charter parties are produced in a standardised and efficient way, with stronger controls around terms.”
