UAB-Online and Entrust: Enabling Fully Digital, eIDAS-Compliant Maritime Workflows

Operational documents generated during vessel visits – such as cargo and quantity records – often require validation and approval from multiple parties, including vessel representatives and terminal operators. Despite advances in digitization, these documents still required physical signatures, forcing users to step outside otherwise digital workflows.

This created several challenges for UAB-Online and its customers:

• Documents needed to be printed, physically signed, scanned, and re-uploaded, sometimes multiple times.
• When terminals needed to add their own signatures, the process often repeated, increasing manual effort and the risk of errors.
• Manual signing steps prevented terminals from achieving fully digital, standardized operations.
• Some terminals relied on external signing solutions, leading to fragmented workflows and the need to manage multiple systems in parallel.

In many terminals, completing a signature required personnel to physically travel from control rooms to vessels – an activity that could take more than 15 minutes per trip. These inefficiencies not only slowed operations but also increased unnecessary movement across busy terminals, impacting safety and productivity.

UAB-Online needed a solution that could support digitally signed documents recognized under eIDAS, while integrating seamlessly into its existing platform so that signing became a natural part of the operational workflow rather than a disconnected step.

To address this challenge, UAB-Online integrated Entrust eSignature directly into its platform, enabling digital signing workflows supported by eIDAS-compliant electronic signatures. Entrust provided the combination of compliance support, trust, and technical flexibility required by an industry operating across jurisdictions and involving multiple independent stakeholders.

Key elements of the solution include:

• Support for eIDAS-compliant electronic signatures, helping customers meet regulatory requirements for recognized digital signing within the EU.
• API-based integration, embedding the Entrust signing experience directly into UAB-Online’s document workflows.
• Multi-party signing support, allowing vessel and terminal stakeholders to sign without leaving the platform.
• Redirects to Entrust’s secure signing environment, accessible via the UAB-Online document dossier.
• Secure email links enabling remote signing, eliminating the need for physical presence during the approval process.

By embedding Entrust eSignature at the exact point where documents require formal approval, UAB-Online eliminated the need for printing, scanning, and re-uploading documents. Signing became a seamless, auditable step within the same platform where documents are created, managed, and stored.

This integration enabled UAB-Online to deliver a consistent digital experience while supporting regulated signing requirements critical to maritime operations.

With Entrust eSignature embedded into its workflows, UAB-Online has enabled terminals and vessels to remove the final paper-dependent step from the vessel visit process. This shift has delivered tangible operational improvements while strengthening the value of the platform for customers.

Results achieved include:

• Active deployment across 5 ports and 30+ terminals, with continued expansion.
• Optimization of 25,000+ vessel visits per year through digitally supported signing processes.
• Elimination of physical signing, printing, scanning, and re-uploading of documents.
• Remote signing from control rooms, reducing unnecessary movement across terminal sites.
• Faster document turnaround, contributing to reduced operational delays.
• Improved safety and more efficient use of personnel during vessel visits.

These outcomes support shorter vessel turnaround times and better capacity utilization at the terminal level, reinforcing UAB-Online’s mission to standardize maritime operations through practical digitization.

Entrust has become a core enabling component of UAB-Online’s ability to deliver meaningful operational value at scale.

UAB-Online views digital signing as a foundational capability within a broader, long-term digital strategy. While digital signing is currently initiated between vessel and terminal, the platform plans to expand this capability so that all stakeholders – including traders, agents, and surveyors – can initiate and participate in signing workflows directly within UAB-Online. This evolution will further strengthen the platform’s role as a unified collaboration environment for liquid bulk shipping. Entrust will continue to support this growth by providing secure, scalable eSignature capabilities that support eIDAS-compliant digital signing as UAB-Online expands its footprint across ports, terminals, and regions.