Making vessel clearance digitally verifiable at the Port of Bridgetown
Barbados Port Inc. worked with Dock Labs to enable electronic Certificates of Clearance that vessel representatives can present and recipients can digitally verify.
Paper-based clearance could mean delays and errors.
Vessels entering or leaving Barbadian waters must obtain a Certificate of Clearance. The process could be paper-based, time-consuming and susceptible to errors and delays. A certificate also needs to be checked when it is presented, especially if a vessel's authorization has changed.
Verifiable clearance certificates
Port issues
An electronic Certificate of Clearance, issued as a verifiable credential through the Maritime Single Window.
Vessel representative presents
The vessel representative receives the credential and presents it when clearance needs to be shown.
Recipient verifies
A genuine certificate may no longer be valid.
The Port has the capability to revoke a credential in real time when a vessel is no longer authorized to enter or leave Barbadian waters. A verifier can then identify that revoked status even if the original certificate is still being presented.
A faster, more reliable way to verify vessel clearance.
The integration moves Certificates of Clearance into a digitally verifiable workflow. The Port can issue electronic credentials, recipients can check their authenticity, and revoked credentials can signal when authorization no longer applies. The Port reports that this streamlines and accelerates clearance verification and supports more reliable operations.
“The new strategic vision for our port hinges on our ability to innovate. With Dock Labs' Verifiable Credentials, the Port of Bridgetown produces digital solutions that become the rising tide that raises all ships.”
Where does document verification slow down your workflow?
Dock Labs can help you explore how verifiable credentials can fit into the systems your organization already uses.
