Singapore launches Pilot of TradeTrust Blockchain Shipping Initiative for the maritime sector through development of electronic bills of lading (EBLs), reports Asia/MiddleEast Maritime Focus.
What is the benefit?
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and MPA are partnering up to lead development of Singapore’s TradeTrust initiative for the maritime sector through development of electronic bills of lading (EBLs).
Announcing the pilot in Singapore’s parliament on 4 March, Minister for Communications and Information S Iswaran said, “TradeTrust is an initiative to develop a set of standards to help businesses securely exchange digital trade documents.”
How does the initiative work?
TradeTrust will aim to reduce inefficiencies and complexities of cross-border trade that arise from paper-based documents such as traditional bills of lading.
It will comprise a set of governance and legal frameworks, standards and future-ready digital infrastructure and will be supported by distributed-ledger technology, also known as blockchain, to give participants proof of authenticity and provenance for documents exchanged.
The first industry to get benefited
IMDA said the maritime sector could be the first industry to benefit from the initiative, with trade processing and documentation estimated to add up to 20% to the physical cost of shipping a single container.
What is in the MoU?
A memorandum of understanding was signed between IMDA, MPA, Singapore Customs and the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) in January 2019 affirming support for the initiative.
IMDA and MPA will take the lead in developing TradeTrust for EBLs, with Singapore Customs and SSA providing support.
The initial focus
Working together with government and industry, the initial focus of the initiative will be on developing digital infrastructure, promoting EBLs and carrying out technical trials to demonstrate interoperability of EBLs across different digital ecosystems.
IMDA will organise industry consultation workgroups with the maritime trade, logistics and finance sectors to gather feedback on the initiative, and will issue a request for proposal to invite industry proposals on technical implementation of TradeTrust infrastructure.
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Source: AMEMaritime
