The Russian Ministry of Transport will trial Maersk and IBM’s blockchain maritime solution TradeLens, according to reports from Russian media, which references an official government document laying out the plans.
The letter, which was addressed to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov, who is responsible for the country’s transport policy, reportedly says Moscow will sign a memorandum-of-understanding (MoU) with Maersk to trial TradeLens in the Port of St Petersburg.
It goes onto suggest that tests could take place as early as the second half of 2019 and will involve multiple agencies across the Russian government, including customs, after they were approved by the Federal Security Service (FSB).
Katherine Foster, BLOC, discusses maritime blockchain at PTI's Smart Ports and Supply Chains Conference (SPSC18) in Rotterdam
Russian officials reportedly see TradeLens as an opportunity to cut costs in port and shipping operations, which experts estimate it can do to the tune of US$152 million.
A recent Port Technology technical paper explored port-centric logistics
In response to PTI’s request, Maersk sent this statement: “The TradeLens platform is generally available for participants across the global supply chain to sign onto.
“TradeLens is in dialogue with companies and organizations across multiple geographies about joining or piloting the platform.
“We do not comment on any specific dialogue with a potential platform participant.”
TradeLens was launched in August 2018, a story PTI reported on, by Maersk and IBM after securing cooperation from 94 organizations across the world.
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