CargoDocs™
Overview
CargoDocs™
provides users with the original electronic documents
required for trading and financing of waterborne cargoes, including
specifically negotiable bills of lading and relevant supporting
documents.
Paper B/L Inefficiencies
According to the World Bank, the management of paper documents wastes
over 7% of the total value of world trade. Even in today’s slower market
conditions that equates to approximately US$660 billion annually.
These
costs arise due to the large number of different documents created by
disparate parties. Forrester Research estimates that importing a single
cargo requires an average of 36 original paper documents and 240
copies, from 27 parties. Compounding the problem, each party runs an
independent IT system, hampering even limited data sharing across
systems. This means that 90% of the information which overlaps between
documents needs to retyped - resulting in a significant likelihood of
inter-document data variances.
The paper Bill of Lading is widely acknowledged as the root of these inefficiencies.
Development History
Prior
to the operational launch of CargoDocs, ESS undertook two and a half
years of testing with leading international trade participants.
This testing took the following form:
Initial Proof-of-Concept
(POC) Pilot Series to demonstrate that ESS could: (i) provide the IT
platform which could facilitate the replacement of paper shipping
documents with eDocs; and (ii) provide an industry acceptable legal
framework. ESS completed two POCs between 2007-2008 with BP and Shell. Full list of POC participants[1].
Simulation
Exercises using the operational CargoDocs Services. ESS completed 15
months of simulation exercises to prove to a wider group of 50+
participants that eDocs could replace paper. These simulations ranged
from half day sessions to exercises that ran over several months. Full list of simulations participants[2].
The first
CargoDocs electronic bill of lading was transacted by BPOUK, Morgan
Stanley, INEOS, Denholm Barwil and Brostrom Tankers on 25 January 2010.
Follow this link for more information on where else ESS is rolling out CargoDocs
ESS provides software upgrade releases to CargoDocs at
least once a quarter, to improve the usability based on feedback from
users. For more information on the latest CargoDocs release, full
features list, user guides, etc., please login to the DDG Extranet.
[1]
Supsa Terminal – Georgia Pipeline Company, Harburg Terminal,
Brunsbuettel Terminal, BP Oil International, BP Germany, Shell
Deutschland, STASCO, Shell Rotterdam, Carl F. Peters, BP Shipping,
Barwil (Wilhelmsen Marine Services), Barwil-Martinoli Trieste and SGS.
[2]
Hound Point Marine Terminal, Teesside Terminal, Åsgard Terminal,
Finnart Terminal, Sullom Voe Terminal, Alvheim Terminal, TOTSA, STASCO,
BP Oil International, Chevron, Statoil, ConocoPhillips, Vitol, Mercuria,
Arcadia Petroleum, Trafigura, Glencore, BG, ExxonMobil, Dong, Sempra
Energy Trading, Marathon, Petro-Canada, Total Raffinage Marketing,
Maersk Oil & Gas, INEOS, Cargill International, Morgan Stanley,
Rabobank, UBS, Fortis, HypoVereinsbank, Sumitomo Mitsui Bank Corp,
Saras, Teekay Tankers, Teekay Shuttle, Brostrom Shipping, Heidmar, BP
Shipping, Chevron Shipping, Tankers International, Torm, D/S Norden,
Pendle Shipping, Stena Bulk, ST Shipping, GAC-OBC, Graypen, Cory
Brothers and Inchcape Shipping Services.
Industry Approval
ESS has obtained approval from a number of sources for the legal agreement which underpins its eB/L service:
- International Group of P&I Clubs: ESS obtained IG Approval for an earlier version of the DSUA on April 14th, 2007 – this was confirmed for v.2009.3 on November 17th, 2009. IG approval involved a comprehensive review of the DSUA by US and UK Counsel for the IG. Club Circulars: In circulars published in September 2010, the 13 Clubs in the International Group advised all members that standard P&I risks associated with the carriage of cargo under an eB/L issued using ESS’s CargoDocs™ Services are within members’ standard terms of cover, provided they have signed version 2009.3 of the DSUA
- Leadership in Energy Automated Processing: LEAP (representing oil majors, trading houses & banks) appointed a leading QC to review the DSUA to demonstrate that, in principle, eB/Ls can be used instead of paper Bills of Lading. The opinion, given in January 2008, does not raise any barriers to their use.
- Industry Workshops: from 2006 to 2009, a number of workshops were held with stakeholders (including ExxonMobil, Total, BP, Shell, Statoil and ConocoPhillips) to obtain feedback on the terms of the DSUA. Their comments, as well as those of their outside counsel, were incorporated in the approved DSUA, v. 2009.3.
eDocs Available
CargoDocs provides users with the
documents required for trading waterborne cargoes. The eDocs templates
are configurable and reflect the paper templates currently used.
Examples offered under CargoDocs for Tankers include:
- Negotiable Bills of Lading (including the Congenbill and INTANKBILL templates and company specific templates)
- Non-Negotiable Bills of Lading
- Certificates of Origin
- Certificates of Quality
- Certificates of Quantity
- Cargo Manifests
- Combined Certificates, such as CQQ, CQQO, CQQOCM, etc.
- Certificates of Analysis
- Documentary Instructions
- Ullage Reports
- Timesheets or Statements of Facts
- Master’s Receipt of Samples
- Master’s Receipt of Documents
- Notice of Completeness
- Letters of Protest
- Sailing Advices
- Other eDocs templates as required
- Users can upload copies of any other documents
ESS frequently adds new templates when onboarding new terminals, refineries, carriers, surveyors and other parties responsible for creating documents. ESS also has a standardized set of documents which are loosely based on UNeDocs.
Please note that CargoDocs does not provide electronic Letters of Credit, but rather the documents that are presented to a bank under the eUCP.
Market Rollouts
CargoDocs was developed at the request of the industry to work across all
markets - liquid bulk, dry bulk and liner. Today, CargoDocs is
available in the Energy, ARA Barges and Liner segments with plans for expansion into the dry bulk
segment within the next 18 months.
The CargoDocs service has been used in an ever-growing number of trade routes in Europe and the Americas. ESS's rollout of CargoDocs is driven by its customers through the DDG.
Oil & Gas Rollout: Since going live ex-Finnart Terminal, ESS is now focused on rolling out CargoDocs at crude and gas terminals across the North, Black, Baltic, Norwegian and Mediterranean Seas in 2011-12. We are also evaluating options in West Africa offshore terminals and the Middle East.
Refined Products Rollout: ESS is focused on rolling out CargoDocs at refineries across Europe, the US Gulf Coast and the Caribbean region.
Chemicals: ESS is focused on rolling out CargoDocs in chemical trades across Europe.
ARA Barges: ESS recently announced its expansion into the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) tanker barge market with the launch of its CargoDocs for Barges Solution. Several major international trading houses have already signed up to use CargoDocs for Barges and more are in the final stages of approval.
Liner: ESS is focused on rolling out CargoDocs within key container trade routes.
Other Geographic Areas/Trades: ESS will continue to expand into geographic areas and trades sectors.
If you are a DDG Member, please log into the DDG Extranet for more information on teh current status of our Market Rollout. If you are not a DDG Member, and would like more information on ESS’ global rollout, please contact one of our Account Managers. We strongly recommend you join our Users Association, the ESS-Databridge Development Group (DDG), which facilitates entry into new market areas. For more information please contact info@ddgnet.org or call +44 20 3102 6603.
