Splash247: Five eBL platforms secure IGP&I approval for cross-platform exchange

Published by Splash247

Five electronic bill of lading (eBL) providers have become the first to implement a new Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) interoperability framework approved by the International Group of P&I Clubs (IGP&I), a move aimed at breaking down one of the biggest barriers to digital trade adoption.

CargoX, edoxOnline, TradeGo, WaveBL and eTEU have adopted the DCSA Standard Annex for eBL Platform Interoperability v.2, enabling electronic bills of lading to be exchanged across different platforms under a common legal and technical framework.

Until now, eBLs typically remained locked within the platform on which they were issued, requiring all parties in a transaction to use the same system. The new framework allows shippers, carriers, banks and freight forwarders using different platforms to exchange eBLs while maintaining legal certainty and insurance backing.

The framework combines DCSA’s Platform Interoperability (PINT) standard, a Control Tracking Registry (CTR) to track ownership and prevent duplication, and a common legal rulebook approved by the IGP&I.

DCSA chief executive Thomas Bagge described the development as a significant step towards industry-wide adoption.

“For digital trade to scale, interoperability cannot remain confined to isolated connections between individual platforms,” Bagge said. “The industry needs a shared framework that allows trusted exchange across a network of providers.”

The association said the milestone replaces earlier one-to-one interoperability arrangements with a multilateral model that can be adopted by any approved platform.

WaveBL chief legal officer Boaz Lessem said the approval demonstrated that common platform rules can act as “the legal bridge enabling trusted cross-platform exchange of electronic bills of lading”.

The development follows nearly five years of collaboration between DCSA and eBL providers and builds on the first standards-based interoperable eBL transactions completed last year.

DCSA said additional platforms are progressing through the approval process, with the interoperable network expected to expand further.