Electronic Transport Records –  How secure are they in shipping transactions?

Introduction

Necessity of the mother of invention. While paper bills of lading are familiar to everyone involved in shipping or international trade, no-one who deals with them on a daily basis is positive about the experience. In spite of this, paper bills have remained entrenched in shipping for the past 800 years. However, there is now a legal and functionally equivalent electronic alternative that is widely accepted by the shipping and trading industries: ESS’s CargoDocs™ Service.

During this session, we will examine the new reality that is electronic bills of lading, their legal and functional status, and what progress has been made in the customs field to promote electronic transmission of documents.

Issues to be discussed:

Introduction and the BOLERO system

eB/Ls – the Legal Perspective
+ Is it time to replace the paper bill of lading?
+ Creating an electronic alternative to the paper bill of lading
+ Satisfying the requisite legal requirements
+ How should the system be regulated?
+ The P&I Perspective
+ Approved Systems
+ Mutualised Risk
+ Rotterdam Rules

ESS’s CargoDocs™

+  Introduction to ESS
+  The CargoDocs™ Solution
+  Current Status
+  Legal Framework
+  Approvals and Reviews
+  Key provisions of the contractual framework
+  Interaction with other contracts: Charterparties, documentary credits and sales of goods contracts
+  Demo

World Customs Organization

+ The specific role of the WCO
+ Drivers promoting electronic processes in the customs field
+ eCustoms and how it fits in with eB/Ls
+ International co-operation amongst customs bodies