Blue Water Lines, a Singapore-based non-vessel owning common carrier (NVOCC), pioneers as the first to adopt the electronic Bill of Lading (e-BL) in India by utilising blockchain technology on the CargoX platform.
Portall Infosystems, a logistics management application was accorded a contract by the Indian Ports Association, under the Shipping Ministry, to introduce a pan-India Port Community System (PCS 1x).
Portall Infosystems was developed by Mumbai-based logistics conglomerate J M Baxi Group.
By utilising a neutral, public blockchain ethereum network, CargoX operates a smart BL document transfer platform.
An ethereum network is a decentralised, open source Blockchain featuring smart contract functionality.
The PCS1x, offering the P-CaSo curated marketplace of services, was developed by Portall Infosystems, and it has incorporated CargoX’s Platform for Blockchain Document Transfer (BDT), that is accessible to the stakeholders.
At present, PCS1x is operational in 19 ports with over 16,000 corporate stakeholders.
The B2B marketplace (P-CaSo) for the ecosystem is incorporated into the Indian Port Community System to bring various niche services with curated service partners, including services such as blockchain document transfer.
A Bill of Lading (BL) is a crucial legal document in global trade issued by a carrier (shipping line/ freight forwarder) comprising of a detailed list of the cargo, in order to acknowledge receipt of goods, contract of carriage and document of title (ownership) of the goods.
Blue Water Lines is operated by the Abrao Group comprising Omega Shipping, Poseidon Shipping and Aissa Maritime, in India and West Asia.
Portall and Cargox has called upon other NVOCCs, forwarders and also exporters and importers to move away from paper documents and embrace digital bills of lading and trade documentation, as stated by Portall in a statement.
Apart from this, P-CaSo has taken on ‘Return Trucks’, for trucking services on the PCS1x; which is an innovative digital platform with offices in USA and Andhra Pradesh, that bridges transport operators (trailers and trucks) for facilitating seamless cargo shipment from one place to another.
