Some aspects of the possibility of application of electronic bills of lading in petrotraders’ practice
Electronic technologies have very strongly integrated into our lives. The corporate world mastered Internet banking only 25-30 years ago, and already today we are not afraid to make multi-million transactions managing the account on the Internet and being sometimes for thousands of kilometers from the bank. Approximately in the same time arose the idea to simplify the document flow for overseas shipments by converting bill of lading into electronic form. The idea of endorsing a bill of lading with a click of a computer mouse looks very attractive and demands the minimum labor costs. The electronic format of such document as a bill of lading remains a subject of numerous disputes and publications for at least the last twenty five years. In the article, the advantages and prospects for application of electronic bills of lading when transporting oil freights are considered, and also the factors impeding their application are analyzed.