The latest development in electronic bills of lading is interesting not simply because another major carrier has expanded its digital offering, but because of the way Evergreen has chosen to do it.

As reported by Riviera Maritime Media, Evergreen Marine has integrated its electronic bill of lading service with WaveBL, giving its customers access to a wider digital trade network.

Evergreen is hardly new to electronic documentation, having operated its own iBL service since 2018. The decision to connect with a third-party network reflects something rather more significant in that an eBL has limited value if the parties involved in the transaction cannot readily exchange it.

That has long been one of the obstacles to wider adoption.

An international shipment can involve a carrier, shipper, consignee, freight forwarder and banks, with each potentially using different systems. Requiring everyone to join the same platform creates obvious friction. DCSA has described these closed networks as one of the significant barriers to adoption, particularly for banks that cannot realistically connect to every available eBL platform.

Progress during 2026 suggests that this barrier is beginning to weaken. In June, CargoX, edoxOnline, TradeGo, WaveBL and eTEU adopted the DCSA interoperability framework and received International Group of P&I Clubs approval, allowing eBLs to be exchanged across their respective platforms under a common framework. Evergreen's integration with WaveBL should therefore be viewed against that broader move towards interoperability rather than as another isolated carrier technology project.

There is still some distance to travel, although the direction is becoming clearer.

DCSA member carriers, including Evergreen, have committed to 100% eBL adoption by 2030, supported by the wider work of the FIT Alliance to encourage adoption across the trade ecosystem. That transition also depends upon the necessary legal framework being in place, where progress continues but remains uneven. UNCITRAL currently records legislation based upon or influenced by MLETR in 13 jurisdictions, including China following its 2025 legislation relating specifically to bills of lading.

Technology alone was never going to deliver universal eBL adoption. Legal recognition, common standards and the willingness of trading parties and financial institutions to change established processes all play their part. Interoperability, however, removes one of the more frustrating practical obstacles, as an electronic bill of lading becomes considerably more useful when its journey is not dictated by the platform on which it began.

Evergreen's move is therefore encouraging, but it also reflects how the eBL debate is changing. With the ability of individual carriers to issue electronic bills of lading already established, attention is increasingly turning to how easily those bills can move through the wider trade ecosystem, particularly through the banks financing the underlying transactions.

Progress during 2026 suggests that this broader adoption is beginning to gather pace.

Source: Riviera Maritime Media Ltd. https://www.rivieramm.com/news

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of ICC.