BIMCO has launched the Seafarer’s Digital Certificates Charter, with the aim of support and promoting the maritime industry’s transition towards interoperable digital certification frameworks for vessel crews.
The move comes following the latest expansion of the IMO Compendium on Facilitation and Electronic Business at the recent 50th session of the IMO Facilitation Committee (FAL 50), which saw ‘Seafarers Related Information and STCW Certificates’ added as a new dataset within the Compendium, including standardised IMO data numbers for all relevant entries.
The BIMCO charter encourages shipping stakeholders to adopt and use digital seafarer certificate platforms that meet clearly defined criteria based on an established shared framework. LEDGID, Maritime Passport, and Crewdentials are among the charter’s early signatories.
The public document is now open for signature by various stakeholders, including platform providers, flag states, and interested organisations.
For system providers, signing the charter includes a commitment to participate in BIMCO’s interoperability pilot scheduled for September 2026. This pilot will test how different digital certificate tools operate seamlessly across various systems to support the industry’s paperless ambitions. The pilot’s terms of reference will be shared once finalised.
Organisations can sign the charter by submitting the signatory’s name and title, along with their company’s web link and logo. BIMCO is also hosting a workshop in September 2026 for independent digital seafarer certificate vault application providers that support, or intend to support, the IMO Compendium electronic certificate data model.
