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Banks need to independently investigate container-related transactions and validate that they indeed took place, to counter fraud and money-laundering
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Governments also need to have a full picture of all actors, vessels, and cargo within their domain to counter smuggling
Israel-headquartered predictive-intelligence firm Windward has launched a system that provides live screening and tracking of containers, said local reports on Thursday, July 22.
The tool is named Container Insights, and reportedly enhances a company’s current cargo-insights capability to provide not just live-screening and container-tracking but also verification of bill of landing, or BOL.
The reports said the new capability optimizes and increases the efficiency of screening processes for trade finance transactions.
It also apparently enables government agencies to investigate suspicious containers by providing them with a clear view of vessels, behaviors, companies, and containers, all on one platform.
The reports said that out of the $12 trillion global trade that happens by sea, $7 trillion is involves transportation of containerized goods. As part of any due diligence process in a transaction, banks screen companies and vessels doing this.
Container numbers are included in the BOL and Letter of Credit or LC, but may not contain the vessel’s International Maritime Organization number, or IMO number. This makes it difficult for banks to fully vet the transaction, said the reports.
Additionally, as part of anti-money-laundering and anti-fraud processes, banks need to independently investigate those transactions and validate that they indeed took place.
Governments also need to have a full picture of all actors, vessels, and cargo within their domain to counter smuggling of illicit goods, like narcotics and arms.
Container Insights will reportedly provide data and tracking information on any container of interest and connect the container to any vessel, location, and entity, helping its customers keep track of them in real time.
The system also provides an independent validation capability for BOL verification, said the reports.
Windward CEO and Co-Founder Ami Daniel was quoted by the reports as saying: “This new capability combined with our Company Risk and Vessel Insights provides our users with a one-stop shop for all maritime trade operations.”