STANDARDISED ELECTRONIC BILLS OF LADING INITIATIVE

The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA), which is a non-profit group comprising nine member shipping lines and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BIMCO, FIATA and provider of financial messaging services, SWIFT, to collaborate on digitalising international trade.

FIT has confirmed that the new MoU plans to raise awareness relating to the importance of common and interoperable data standards and common legislative conditions across international jurisdictions and platforms. More specifically, this group of interested stakeholders is aiming to facilitate the acceptance and adoption of an eBL by regulators, banks and insurers and to unify 8 Shipping industry stakeholders are targeting the standardised use of electronic bills of lading communication between these organisations and customers, physical and contractual carriers – in short, bringing together all interested parties directly involved in an international trade transaction.

David Loosley, Secretary General and CEO, BIMCO, elaborates: “The digitalisation of documentation for container shipments will add value for international suppliers who rely on shipping across sectors. Aligning these standards with the electronic bill of lading standard for the dry and liquid bulk sectors, which we are developing with assistance from DCSA, will help accelerate the digitalisation of trade globally.”

Thomas Bagge, CEO, DCSA, adds: “Container ships carry 90 per cent of the world’s goods. As such, an incredibly diverse set of stakeholders touches the bill of lading transaction, from government regulators, to insurers, to shippers from every industry. To achieve widespread use of eBL, they must all be on board with adopting digital B/L standards. The agreement between DCSA and these diverse industry associations is an exciting milestone in our journey towards standardising all container shipping documentation through our eDocumentation initiative,” he underlines.

BIMCO is one of the largest of the international shipping associations representing shipowners and states that its membership represents approximately 60 percent of the world’s merchant shipping tonnage, with members in more than 130 countries. The FIATA International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations is a non-governmental organisation representing freight forwarders worldwide.