The IAPH members magazine Port & Harbors has published an article written by one of its correspondents Charlie Bartlett in the November – December edition on the strange anachronism of shipping’s paper trail, and what is to be done to modernize it.
In the article, Charlie explores how efforts are bring made to digitalize processes which have served shipping and ports for centuries by endless paper trails, including the bill of lading and the lengthy bureaucratic procedures often found at ports in order to perform customs declarations, container releases and crew administration.
He explores efforts being made to use new technologies such as Blockchain, as well as exploring which standards should be considered when implementing a maritime single window, citing concrete examples from ports trying to do achieve interoperability between each other.