Today the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) said that nine major ocean carriers have committed to issuing half of bills of lading electronically within five years and 100% in ten years. This is a massive boost for DLT, given that eight of ten electronic bills of lading (eBL) solutions use blockchain.
The DCSA has developed the industry standards for eBL, which the cargo carriers have agreed to adopt. The shipping firms that signed up are MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag Lloyd, ONE, Evergreen Marine, Yang Ming, HMM and ZIM. These represent eight of the ten largest container shippers, with China’s COSCO as the one big omission.
Electronic bills of lading are critical documents in international trade, representing ownership of the goods in transit. They are a foundational document for trade finance. Despite most businesses going digital, eBL accounts for a tiny fraction of issued bills of lading, estimated at around 1.5%.
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