Maritime Blockchain Labs (MBL), a subsidiary of Blockchain Labs for Open Collaboration (BLOC), has launched a new consortium to explore how blockchain can be applied to the handling of dangerous goods.
Funded by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation and conducted alongside corporate innovation firm Rainmaking, the parties involved in the project include Copenhagen Malmö Ports (CMP) and Flexport.
It is said that 5-10% of an average container ship's cargo is declared as hazardous goods, even though 12% of global container trade comprises dangerous goods.
Nadia Hewett, WEF, discusses the integration of blockchain into the maritime supply chain in a recent Port Technology technical paper
With around a quarter of all serious incidents onboard container ships caused by mis-declared cargo, according to the Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS), the consortium will explore the “use of digital tools” for tracing dangerous cargoes.
In addition to this, MBL will build and test a prototype to test the potential of distributed ledger technology (DLT) for addressing supply chain challenges.
The Evolution of Maritime Blockchain #PTIDaily SEE MORE: https://t.co/6YEOivaY6W#blockchain #maritime #shipping pic.twitter.com/R8E3S7XdrD
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Deanna MacDonald, CEO and Founder of BLOC, said: “The global economy is a highly interconnected machine, and with container ships transporting more than 90% of non-bulk cargo worldwide, this machine only operates efficiently when the shipping and logistics components operate efficiently.
“However, continuously tracking and monitoring the contents of seafaring containers is a supremely complex task that demands cooperation amongst stakeholders and a high level of data interoperability and information sharing.
“Blockchain has a huge amount of potential when it comes to tackling this – but we need to bring together stakeholders from across the value chain to ensure that whatever solution we build works for everyone involved. This is what this consortium is here to do.”
