Digitalization in shipping means less paperwork, when a vessel enters and leaves a port, which can be achieved through Electronic Data Interchange (EDI); Now, the International maritime Organization (IMO) provides a new guide, explaining how the industry can be in line with the mandatory requirements.
By April 2019, when EDI came into force, public authorities have been required to set up electronic systems for vessel reporting formalities. This applies to all the documentation needed to fulfill the standard regulatory requirements – the cargo declaration, dangerous goods declaration, crew manifests, vessel details and so on.
Who is involved:
Port authorities, maritime administrations, customs, police, immigration, health and agricultural authorities and all other relevant bodies must be part of the port EDI system. Ships’ agents, terminal operators, tug and pilot services and others can also be included. Where there are existing Port Community Systems and other electronic platforms, these can support the implementation of the EDI exchanges.
In addition, IMO has launched the Single Window concept, which aims to address the issue of numerous, non-harmonised reporting obligations by linking the existing national maritime single windows together in a coordinated and harmonised way.
The guide highlights that
That’s good news for all concerned – but public authorities that haven’t yet put a system like this in place need to ACT NOW.
In the meantime, the IMO can provide technical assistance to governments that need help to fulfil their mandatory obligations under the FAL Convention. When the IMO decided that ships’ digitalized reporting will be mandatory, IMO’s Secretary General Kitack Lim stated that “the new FAL Convention requirement for all Public Authorities to establish systems for the electronic exchange of information related to maritime transport marks a significant move in the maritime industry and ports towards a digital maritime world, reducing the administrative burden and increasing the efficiency of maritime trade and transport.”
Overall, in efforts to assist the industry, the IMO has also developed the IMO Compendium, a technical reference manual for software developers within the relevant public authorities, which harmonizes the data elements requested by the various public authorities and standardizes the electronic messages. IMO has also issued guidelines for setting up a maritime single window.
Learn more herebelow
