The neutral maritime digital identity platform marks its global launch with two commitments to seafarers: an industry standard for verifiable, portable credentials, and a welfare partnership with one of shipping’s most trusted names.

LEDGID, the neutral maritime digital identity platform, launches to the global shipping market this week at Posidonia 2026 with two announcements that place the seafarer at the centre of maritime’s digital transition. The company has been confirmed as the first signatory to the BIMCO Seafarer Digital Certificate Charter (SDCC), and has named The Mission to Seafarers as its official welfare partner.

Taken together, the two announcements set out what LEDGID stands for. The company is building a neutral trust infrastructure for maritime. Rather than replacing regulators, operators, vendors or welfare organisations, it connects them, allowing verified identity, credentials and compliance records to move with the seafarer across employers, services and jurisdictions. At the heart of the model is a user-owned digital identity: the seafarer remains the anchor point, with professional records linked to the individual rather than trapped inside fragmented systems. The LEDGID platform gives each seafarer a single verified profile holding their certifications, sea time, experience and compliance records — timestamped, identity-bound and reusable from one ship, contract and country to the next.

First signatory to the BIMCO Seafarer Digital Certificate Charter

Led by BIMCO, the SDCC establishes a unified industry standard for the digital issuance, verification and portability of seafarer certificates. It sets out the principles by which seafarer credentials should be created, held and verified in a digital environment, with seafarer ownership, data integrity and interoperability at its core. As the first signatory, LEDGID commits to building its platform in line with the Charter’s principles, ensuring that the seafarers who rely on verifiable credentials to secure work and meet compliance obligations are served by a system designed with their interests at the centre.

For decades, seafarers have carried physical certificates between vessels, employers and regulators, with every verification cycle adding cost, delay and risk. The Charter is a significant step in addressing this, giving the industry a shared framework that supports digital trust without compromising on rigour or seafarer protection.

“Being recognised as the first signatory to the BIMCO Seafarer Digital Certificate Charter is an important milestone for LEDGID and a strong signal for the wider industry. Maritime needs shared, best-in-class approaches to digital trust, not more fragmentation. Credentials only create real value when they are portable, auditable and usable across the ecosystem in a way that supports seafarers, employers, service providers and regulators alike. That is the direction this Charter represents, and we are proud to support it.”

Henning Davies, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, LEDGID

The Mission to Seafarers named as official welfare partner

Alongside the Charter, LEDGID has named The Mission to Seafarers as its official welfare partner. The two organisations share a belief that the world’s seafarers deserve more than the system they have inherited, and the practical means to deliver something better.

For 170 years, the Mission has stood beside seafarers in every corner of the global shipping network. From its founding in 1856 to its work today across more than 200 ports in over 50 countries, the Flying Angel has become one of the most recognised symbols of welfare at sea. Behind it sits a network of chaplains, port centres, ship visitors and welfare professionals who meet seafarers where they actually are: at the foot of a gangway in a foreign port, on board a vessel during a few hours of cargo operations, or in a port centre offering a quiet space, a hot meal and a friendly face after weeks at sea.

That global presence is the foundation on which the partnership is built. Seafarers already know the Mission, its centres and its chaplains, and they know the support is genuine, confidential and free. What LEDGID adds is a way of turning everyday port visits, training opportunities and welfare touchpoints into moments where seafarers can also take ownership of their professional identity. A chaplain visiting a vessel in a busy port can introduce a seafarer to a system that protects their career history. A port centre offering Wi-Fi and a quiet seat can become the place where a seafarer first claims ownership of their professional record. The Mission’s Happy at Sea app, already in the hands of thousands of seafarers worldwide, becomes a familiar gateway into the digital identity infrastructure shaping the future of maritime employment.

The value runs in both directions. For the Mission, the partnership extends its work of practical care into the digital sphere, equipping the seafarers it serves with tools that protect their livelihoods, not only their wellbeing. For LEDGID, it ensures the platform is shaped by the realities of life at sea rather than the assumptions of those who have never been there. For the seafarer at the centre of it all, it means the welfare organisation they already trust and the digital infrastructure they increasingly need are working together rather than in isolation.

“For seafarers, welfare is not only about support during times of crisis. It is also about ensuring they have the tools, information and opportunities they need to thrive throughout their careers. We are pleased to partner with LEDGID on an initiative that places seafarers at the centre, helping them take greater ownership of their professional identity while ensuring that digital innovation remains grounded in the realities of life at sea.”

Ben Bailey, Director of Programmes, The Mission to Seafarers

“Through Seafarer Social, the message from seafarers is consistent. They want a system that recognises their qualifications, respects their ownership of their own records and works across borders, employers and regulators. Bringing together the Charter and a welfare partner of the Mission’s standing is exactly what neutrality and best practice look like in practice.”

Carl King, Founder of Seafarer Social and adviser to LEDGID

About the people behind LEDGID

LEDGID was founded by three established figures in maritime technology and seafarer welfare. Peter Schellenberger, Co-Founder and Director, is the founder of maritime consultancy Novamaxis and a recognised voice on connectivity, digitalisation and crew welfare across the global fleet. Henning Davies, Co-Founder and Director, brings deep commercial experience from the maritime learning and operational technology sector, having held senior leadership at Ocean Technologies Group, one of the industry’s largest training and crewing software groups, serving more than a million seafarers worldwide. Ronald Spithout, Co-Founder and Director, is the former President of Inmarsat Maritime, founder of MariDISC and a SMART4SEA Leadership Award winner, with more than three decades of experience driving digital transformation at sea.

At Posidonia 2026 and beyond

LEDGID will demonstrate its platform at Posidonia 2026, the world’s premier international shipping exhibition, taking place from 1 to 5 June at the Metropolitan Expo in Athens. The welfare partnership will be activated through joint programmes across port centres and welfare touchpoints in the months following the exhibition, alongside continued integration work with the Happy at Sea app and ongoing collaboration on advocacy, research and seafarer engagement. Further announcements on specific port activations, training programmes and joint initiatives will follow throughout the year.

LEDGID works with IDsure as its blockchain verification partner, providing the tamper-evident layer that underpins verified credentials on the platform.

LEDGID and Mission to Seafarers representatives will be available throughout the week for meetings, briefings and demonstrations. Appointments can be arranged in advance by contacting the LEDGID team directly.