India to Adopt Blockchain-Based Bill of Lading Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the World Health Organization (WHO) advised countries to adopt a digital form of money to curtail the spread of the virus. 

In a similar development, India’s Ministry of Shipping has given the go-ahead to digitize the country’s maritime supply chains through the adoption of a blockchain-based bill of lading, according to a report released today. 

This is because the coronavirus, which has resulted in a consequent lockdown and social distancing, has severely affected the paper-based bill of lading and has led to significant port congestion.

According to the ministry, the country will start by running trial shipments, whereby the bill of lading will be submitted on CargoX’s blockchain technology through India’s Port Community System, which was developed by Portall Infosystems.

The development today has led to a partnership between CargoX and Portall. The collaboration is aimed at creating a digital process of sending bills of lading and transfer of trade documents. It will be done through the P-CaSo services marketplace, which was integrated into PCS 1x.

The founder of the new Forward Together logistics network, Alejandro Gutierrez, made a live shipment with four companies where he used a blockchain-based bill of lading instead of paperwork. He then commented on this saying;

The ability to conduct shipment transactions and transfers of ownership without the need for human physical interaction creates a breakthrough case for freight forwarding and logistics, especially when health measures are so important.

Stefan Kukman, the chief executive and founder of CargoX also made comments saying, “In these times of multiple risks to our common society, we are proud to help shipping companies, which represent the backbone of the economy, resolve supply chain document-sending issues and enable them to meet delivery deadlines everywhere in the world in a secure and efficient manner, while also lowering the document transfer cost.”