The maritime industry’s push toward digitalisation of seafarer records has reached a new milestone with the official global launch of the digital identity platform LEDGID at Posidonia 2026 in Athens.
The platform enters the market alongside two major announcements that reinforce its positioning as a seafarer-first digital infrastructure. LEDGID has become the first signatory to BIMCO’s Seafarer Digital Certificate Charter (SDCC), while also naming The Mission to Seafarers as its official welfare partner.
At its core, LEDGID is designed as a neutral digital trust layer for the maritime sector, enabling verified identity data, professional qualifications, and compliance records to accompany seafarers throughout their careers instead of being locked into individual employers or fragmented systems.
Each seafarer is provided with a unified digital profile that stores certifications, sea service records, and compliance documentation, allowing seamless use across different employers, vessels, and jurisdictions.
The BIMCO-led SDCC initiative aims to define global standards for the digital issuance, verification, and portability of seafarer certificates, with a strong focus on interoperability, data integrity, and ensuring that seafarers retain ownership of their professional records.
Henning Davies, co-founder and chief executive of LEDGID, said the agreement represents a step forward for digital cooperation in the maritime sector.
“Maritime needs shared approaches to digital trust, not more fragmentation,” Davies said. “Credentials only create value when they are portable, auditable and usable across the wider ecosystem.”
The second pillar of the launch is a partnership with The Mission to Seafarers, one of the industry’s longest-established welfare organisations, which operates in more than 200 ports worldwide.
Under the agreement, seafarers visiting Mission facilities or engaging with its digital services will be introduced to tools that enable them to claim, manage and maintain their professional records digitally.
Ben Bailey, director of programmes at The Mission to Seafarers, highlighted the importance of aligning digital innovation with seafarer welfare.
“Seafarers want tools, information and opportunities that help them thrive throughout their careers,” Bailey said. “This initiative helps them take greater ownership of their professional identity while keeping digital innovation grounded in the realities of life at sea.”
LEDGID was founded by maritime technology veterans Peter Schellenberger, Henning Davies, and former Inmarsat Maritime president Ronald Spithout. The company is actively showcasing its platform during Posidonia week in Athens, with additional port-based welfare and digital identity initiatives expected to roll out later this year.
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