Notification to Members Home / News / Circulars – P&I / Electronic Bills of Lading: Notification of new process Circulars – P&I – No: 2724/2025 Electronic Bills of Lading: Notification of new process 5 February, 2025 Notification to Members The Group is pleased to announce that from 20 February 2025, paperless trading systems will be “deemed approved”, if they comply with certain requirements. The requirements for “deemed approval” are: the system permits “compliant” electronic bills of lading (“E-bills”) only, meaning E-bills which are subject to a governing law which gives legal recognition to them as equivalent to paper bills of lading; and the system is reliable and is evidenced as such, as set out at paragraph 7 ii) below. 2. To assist Members, any system provider that approaches the Group for approval of their system, and which meets requirements, will be listed on the Group’s website. This applies both to systems that successfully complete the existing Group approval process as referenced in paragraph 8) below, as well as those that are to be deemed approved. Further guidance in relation to the approval process for all providers is set out below. Background 3. Club Rules provide that liabilities arising in respect of the carriage of cargo under paperless trading systems are covered, provided that the system has first been approved by the Group. The Group’s involvement in approvals has been to ensure that systems do not prejudice Members’ P&I cover, given the previous lack of widespread recognition in law of E-bills. Since 20 February 2010, the Group has approved thirteen electronic systems. 4. The emergence of new technologies such as distributed ledger technology and new legislation have acted as a catalyst for the development of E-bill systems. For example, in September 2023, the Group welcomed the UK’s Electronic Trade Documents Act (“the Act”), giving legal recognition in English law to electronic trade documents, including E-bills.