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Ice Digital Trade has partnered with rival electronic bill of lading (eBL) platforms and technology providers to develop two entirely different interoperable solutions for the container shipping industry.

Last week, it was revealed that eBL providers Ice Digital Trade and IQAX had executed an interoperable solution alongside blockchain consortium Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN) for a shipment of petrochemicals between Singapore and China.

GSBN said the transaction was a “first of its kind” because the electronic bill “went from one platform to another”.

The same week, Ice Digital Trade also announced the completion of a separate interoperable eBL transaction with technology firm CrimsonLogic, which underpinned an export of containerised powder blends from Singapore to Vietnam, between two entities wholly owned by Mitsui.

In that transaction, an eBL issued by shipping company Pacific International Lines remained on Ice Digital Trade but Mitsui was able to access it on CrimsonLogic’s platform via APIs.

The Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore had awarded the project to the consortium in 2022. The transaction, which Ice Digital Trade calls the “originating platform” approach, took place late last year.

Marina Comninos, co-head of Ice Digital Trade, says the two approaches aim to tackle a key hurdle to trade digitalisation – interoperability between eBL platforms.

“eBL interoperability is a hard nut to crack because it is not just a technology issue, we will find ways to transfer data from one platform to another. It’s not rocket science. There are legal question marks around it, and then you have inter-platform liability” and insurance issues, she says.

“We wanted to try both and see what the market prefers,” she tells GTR.

eBL usage has grown in recent years, yet even still, the majority of the estimated 45 million bills of lading issued on an annual basis by ocean carriers are transferred as paper.

Several of the world’s largest ocean carriers have vowed to reach 100% eBL adoption by 2030 as part of a push, which, if realised, would lead to significant environmental and financial benefits for the global trade industry.

However, the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) revealed last year that the number of bills of lading issued electronically for container shipments only stood at around 5%. Large corporates have previously said they would not consider adopting eBLs unless barriers to interoperability were overcome.

Ice Digital Trade initially considered the “originating platform” approach as the most viable solution following discussions with stakeholders who signalled a desire to maintain control of their eBL.

The approach also lessens the risk of arguments over inter-platform liability.

“The eBL, as a packet of data, stays on one platform,” says Comninos.  “There is less chance of data being skewed in transit, less risk of a hack or a theft… That made a lot of sense, it resonated, and we liked it… It’s safe, secure and we can build legal around that easily.”

But for much of 2024, Ice Digital Trade also jointly developed the “handover approach” alongside GSBN and IQAX, whereby the eBL data is folded into a digital envelope and then sent to the second platform using Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) standards.

“Handover started getting its own energy,” Comninos says. “The banks started saying, ‘wait a second, I have selected an eBL platform and gone through six months to two years’ worth of vetting’. They undertook audits and legal checks to ensure platforms like IceCargo Docs could be the repository for their security.”

“If their eBL is sitting on a random platform they have never heard of, what was the point in vetting?”

Currently, she suggests the handover approach is the most likely to succeed, saying: “I do not think there is room for both… The industry needs to choose choose the route for the solution providers to follow.”

 

Container focus

In bulk trading, eBL adoption has been rapid. Shipping industry association Bimco revealed in July last year that its ‘25 by 25’ campaign target – which commits members to use eBLs for at least 25% of shipments of one commodity – has already been reached.

Given many parties in the bulk shipping sector are active on a single platform, there has been little need for interoperability, Comninos says.

“Our focus has almost exclusively been on containerised cargo because there we see a major problem… Carriers are spread across two or three different solutions, banks are major users of Ice Digital Trade and also Bolero, [and] you have IQAX and GSBN that have secured a large proportion of the Chinese market,” she tells GTR.

“Where interoperability really slots in nicely right now, where it’s critically needed and is seeing some traction, is in the container space,” she adds.

There had been hopes that the implementation of the UK’s Electronic Trade Documents Bill  in 2023 would help spur usage of interoperable eBLs, giving them the same legal standing as their paper-based counterparts.

Previously, eBLs could only be used if all parties were signed onto the same contractual agreement and platform.

But despite this legislative change, progress has been muted.

 

No rapid growth

Efforts to develop interoperable eBL solutions have been ongoing for several years, with the DCSA having conducted a proof of concept with CargoX, edoxOnline, essDOCS and Wave BL in 2022.

This trial tested the technological interoperability between platforms and used data that mirrored live shipments.

Now, eBL providers are beginning to use interoperable solutions to facilitate physical trades.

In October 2024, Swedish fintech Enigio and China-focused blockchain consortium TradeGo completed their first end-to-end digital trade transaction between Europe and China, backing Swedish wood pulp exports.

Lloyds Bank’s head of future trade product, Jon Boran, says in a February LinkedIn post that there was a “seamless exchange of documentary presentations” and a fully interoperable eBL was exchanged between two solutions approved by the International Group of P&I Clubs (IGP&I).

GSBN and Ice Digital Trade both anticipate more transactions using the “handover” approach in the coming months.

However, Comninos acknowledges progress will likely be gradual and network building with eBL providers, corporates, financial institutions and ocean carriers will be vital if the approach is to be scaled.

“The four critical components of interoperability have now been addressed,” she tells GTR.

“Nonetheless, it does not mean all the other solution providers are going to love the way we’ve addressed these issues, so there’s work to be done there, and [the transaction] we have conducted is not intended to be a fait accompli. It’s meant to be a basis on which we can build.”

Legislation is another potential hinderance.

Major shipping companies Cosco Shipping Lines and Hapag-Lloyd are respectively based in China and Germany, jurisdictions that are yet to pass laws giving legal backing to digital documents.

Building confidence with financial institutions will be another area to address, Comninos says, adding: “Some banks may put their toes in the water, does that mean they will suddenly do hundreds of transactions? No way… I think it will be slow, but that’s the right way to do it.”