BIMCO has launched the ‘25 by 25 pledge’, a commitment by some of the world’s biggest shippers in the bulk sector to target moving 25% of their annual seaborne trade volume for at least one commodity using electronic bills of lading (eBLs) by 2025.
“The wider adoption of electronic bills of lading is an important step in the shipping industry’s digital transformation,” said Grant Hunter, Director of Standards, Innovation and Research at BIMCO.
“We are delighted that some major players in the dry bulk sector have already backed this community initiative to reach 25% usage across the entire bulk sector. These mining companies have made good headway with adopting eBLs over the past years, mainly with iron ore, but much more can be done.”
BIMCO is a founding member of the FIT Alliance, a partnership between BIMCO, DCSA, ICC, SWIFT and FIATA, which collaborates on the development and adoption of relevant standards to facilitate the use of electronic bills of lading.
Supporting companies of the 25 by 25 pledge include Vale, BHP, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, COSCO Shipping Bulk, Oldendorff and Star Bulk.
“As the largest dry bulk shipper in the world, one of our ambitions has been to continuously improve the experience of doing business with Rio Tinto for our customers and supply chain through innovative end-to-end digital solutions,” said Laure Baratgin, Head of Commercial Operations at Rio Tinto.
“We fully support the 25 by 25 pledge on the use of electronic bills of lading – as a key step in enabling faster, more secure and traceable trade flows, and bringing the industry closer to a full digital trade future.”
