At a recent joint symposium organised with the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) and BIMCO, and hosted by International Maritime Organization (IMO) to mark one year until it is mandatory for ports in Member States to operate Maritime Single Windows (MSWs) for the electronic exchange of information, a senior development official commented: “Given the importance, one is a little surprised at the lack of progress”. Observers might suggest that, as with so much over the last few years, the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed work on reaching this goal but in many cases, in fact, rather than involuntarily applying the brakes, the urgent need to reduce human contact caused by the pandemic became an unexpected driver towards digitalisation.
