Blockchain Technology News

Anschütz released a new software version for the eLog electronic logbook, which meets the latest format requirements for Ballast Water Record Books (BWRBs), which the International Maritime Organization (IMO) recently introduced. Shipowners can take advantage of this update, which ensures compliance with the new IMO regulations, improves operational efficiency, and reduces administrative workload.The new software version of the Anschütz eLog includes essential improvements explicitly…

NYK and Yusen Logistics (YL) have introduced a digital platform for managing GHG emission reductions.The platform is provided by 123Carbon, a Netherlands-based startup working on decarbonizing the logistics sector.NYK and YL will use the platform to support the reduction of Scope 3 GHG emissions by allocating to platform customers the GHG emissions reductions achieved from the use of alternative fuels in our ocean, air and land transport services and issuing certificates confirming…

The maritime industry is witnessing a technological revolution that is fundamentally changing how ships operate, improving safe and efficient performance and reducing emissions, all to meet increasingly restrictive environmental standards. Adopting cutting-edge digital technologies enables ship owners and operators to optimize fleets, boost safe and efficient performance and reduce emissions while satisfying ever-developing environmentally beneficial requirements. Digitalization lies here and on the horizon of commercial vessel operations…

Hong Kong headquartered ocean carrier Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd. (OOCL) said it is running its ships biofuel as a means to reduce emissions from its operations.The company, which has been using biofuel on some of its vessels since 2023, said it has partnered with customers IKEA and Kyocera for the most recent trial voyage, which commenced in early August. The fuel used on the voyage is a B24 biofuel blend, with ISCC certified Used Cooking Oil Methyl Ester as a component in the VLSFO.By substituting fossil fuels with biofuels…

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. (SHI) and Kongsberg Maritime (KM) signed a Joint Development Project Agreement (JDA), an agreement that serves as the basis to develop a design for next-generation  'autonomous' 174K LNG Carrier, leveraging autonomous, remote and low emission technology.In the partnership, SHI will be system integrator with overall design responsibility, while KM will be responsible for the integrated solution designs and have the role as a strategic partner. "We are…

In the first of its kind for a shipyard, DNV has awarded a Statement of Fact (SoF) to Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) for applying blockchain technology to its own SAS (Samsung Autonomous Ship) and SVESSEL eLogbook data streams on an operating vessel.The project was accomplished by interfacing SHI’s data stream and eLogbook with the VeChainThor blockchain to demonstrate the technology’s potential for secure data stream applications on ships.The blockchain application for the SHI data stream pertains to Samsung Autonomous Ship’s navigation information…

Biofuels provider GoodFuels announced the results of a new partnership with global certification organization Control Union and France’s IDS Group to test the effectiveness of a unique isotopic tracer for biofuels.A successful pilot, conducted during a recent delivery of 500 tonnes of biofuel to the Norden-owned tanker Nord Gardenia, has proven the effectiveness of the tracer technology in real-life applications.The partnership, which commenced in early 2022, has seen the companies collaborate to create the new tracer…

Raytheon Anschütz, a business of Raytheon Technologies, has launched an electronic logbook for ships. Dubbed eLog, it is designed to provide secure, quality logbook data and is positioned by the company as a step toward paperless shipping and improved efficiency of onboard processes.Featuring automatic data entry from navigation systems such as the automatic identification system (AIS) or the integrated navigation system (INS), at defined intervals, eLog also enables data input by crews via laptop or mobile devices…

The proliferation of serious fires onboard container ships in recent years has shocked the shipping industry. Here we examine the causes and impact of such fires and the urgent efforts being made by a wide variety of stakeholders to solve this seemingly intractable problem.Over the last decade there has been a 70% fall in ship total losses[1]. This has been widely credited to long term improvements in ship safety management and loss prevention programs. Counter to this trend, there has been a substantial increase in the number of fires in containers carried onboard container and RoRo ships.

COSCO SHIPPING has signed a cooperation agreement with e-commerce company Alibaba and its FinTech affiliate Ant Financial to digitalize the shipping supply chain.The Chinese firms will research and promote the deployment of shipping blockchain in China, working to facilitate the connection of shipping, ports, logistics and finance based on the technology, and to realize data connectivity through cross chain cooperation to build a platform for systematic cooperation between the upstream and downstream industrial chains.

This week, various parties in Rotterdam will be launching a new pilot project, in which containers are handled and released without a PIN code: a widely used verification method in this transport segment. The project revolves around a new application, Secure Container Release, which replaces the PIN code with a digital signal: a solution that is significantly less susceptible to fraud. It is not only intended to make container handling more efficient, but also safer. Participants in the three-month trial include CMA CGM…

The coronavirus lockdown has accelerated a digitalization drive in a global shipping and logistics sector that still routinely delivers many documents by bike messenger in some countries, according to industry leaders.Ports operator DP World said on Thursday it would join shipping company Maersk and other peers in a blockchain platform aimed at limiting the sector's costly paper trail."The situation around the coronavirus is a very good catalyst for making sure everyone in the supply chain can communicate with each other digitally," Mike Bhaskaran, DP World's chief operating officer for logist

Another year has passed since our last mapping of the maritime software landscape, and it is once again time to review the latest developments and trends in this space.Overall, 2019 was another turbulent year for most shipping markets, overshadowed by preparations for the IMO 2020 sulfur regulations, rising geopolitical tensions, the trade war between the USA and China, as well as natural disasters disrupting global supply chains. This article provides insight into the changes seen in the maritime software landscape under these turbulent conditions: On a high-level…

French supply chain data services company Traxens has joined the new European DataPorts project, aimed at creating a data platform for cognitive ports of the future.DataPorts is an EU-funded, three-year project with a budget of $7.3 million (€6.7 million). It is coordinated by the Technological Institute of Informatics (ITI) in Spain.According to a press release from the Container IoT company, today, only three per cent of container terminals are automated. However, the future of the industry points towards smart ports as the best way to overcome the challenges and demands that arise in the sector.Challenges include optimizing port operations…

The Port of Marseille Fos (Grand Port Maritime de Marseille; GPMM) has just completed a blockchain pilot scheme to enhanced efficiencies at France’s largest seaport.The focus of the project for freight transportation on the  Mediterranean-Rhone-Saone (MeRS) corridor is to run a trial to evaluate the security of the digital transport chain. It will involve applying blockchain technology to supply chain logistics and freight forwarding, particularly where goods are transported in multiple ways such as sea and road.Results from trials held over recent months have now been reviewed at a meeting hosted by the port and demonstrated that harmonization of the digital transport chain improved fluidity…

The Port of Rotterdam has announced that the first paperless and fully door-to-door tracked container, based on blockchain technology, has arrived at the warehouse of Samsung SDS in Tilburg.Last year Dutch bank ABN AMRO collaborated with the Port of Rotterdam and Samsung SDS on a blockchain trade initiative, DELIVER. The DELIVER concept fuels process automation and provides value for all actors in the supply chain.Yesterday, they have successfully tracked and instantly financed a shipping container and the Proof of Concept (PoC) phase is complete. The entire journey was paperless and automated thanks to the distributed ledger technology (DLT) based solution."ABN AMRO…

The new dry bulk shipping company G2 Ocean and emerging markets specialists Manuchar have announced the successful trial of CargoX’s blockchain-based Smart Bill of Lading (B/L) Solution, and in doing said the traditional bill of lading is “ready for retirement."According to a statement form G2 Ocean, a joint venture of two of breakbulk and bulk shipping companies - Gearbulk and Grieg Star, the two companies concluded their test of the blockchain-based B/L system in April.“Paper Bills of Lading are already considered a historic artefact. The Smart B/L solution gives both us and our clients the power of a modern, reliable, and efficient tool. It will bring cost optimization and improved data security into their processes.

The cargo shipping company in Israel, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services announced that it has signed on as a member of TradeLens, a blockchain-enabled digital shipping solution jointly developed by A.P. Moller - Maersk and IBM.TradeLens uses blockchain technology to enable trust between multiple trading partners – from carriers to freight forwarders, customs officials, port authorities and more -- when transacting in a digitized global trade documentation process.TradeLens ecosystem members get a single shared view of a transaction without compromising details, privacy or confidentiality and can collaborate more efficiently and with greater certainty through real-time access to shipping data and shipping documents.As a leading carrier in the global container shipping industry…

Shipping major AP Moller-Maersk Group's export-import (exim)-focused trade finance arm Maersk Trade Finance is targeting a 33 percent loan disbursal growth at $200 million in 2019 in India.The trade financing solution arm of Danish business conglomerate said that it disbursed a total of USD 0.7 billion globally till date since its inception in 2015, with over 150 million in India in the year 2018, a 53% Y-o-Y increase as compared to 2017.Vipul Sardana, Global Head of Maersk Trade Finance said “Indian SME sector continues to play a significant role in India's economic development. As the sector is gearing up for its digital transformation…

A group of seven major oil and gas companies, including ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips, announced a partnership to establish the first industry blockchain consortium in the United States.With several use cases across the industry value chain, the consortium intends to conduct proofs of concept with this emerging technology in 2019, said a press release from OOC Oil & Gas Blockchain Consortium.The OOC Oil & Gas Blockchain Consortium was founded to advance industry blockchain technology learnings for the purpose of driving industry standards, frameworks and capabilities around emerging blockchain technology. The consortium…

Japanese shipping company NYK, global mining company BHP, green biofuel company GoodFuels and the developer of blockchain applications for the maritime industry Blockchain Labs for Open Collaboration (BLOC) bunkered biofuel in the tanks a BHP vessel in Netherlands.The Netherlands based GoodFuels Marine, a supplier of sustainable low carbon marine fuels, has annouced the successful delivery of sustainable biofuels to the BHP-chartered, NYK-owned bulk carrier Frontier Sky, with CO2 savings verified with BLOC’s blockchain fuels assurance platform. The advanced biofuel, supplied by GoodFuels via logistics partner Varo Energy, is a ‘drop-in’ marine gasoil (MGO)-equivalent, and was blended with conventional fossil-based MGO in a mix of 30% biofuel to 70% conventional MGO.

Singapore-based Pacific International Lines (PIL) has completed a blockchain pilot with IBM for an electronic Bill of Lading (e-BL).PIL has used e-BL built on the IBM Blockchain Platform in a real-time pilot tracking shipment of mandarin oranges from China for the Lunar New Year celebrations.With the use of e-BL, the trial has produced a significant reduction in the administrative process of transferring the title deed from five to seven days to just one second."This is significant because the Bill of Lading is one of the most crucial documents used in international trade, typically issued by a shipping carrier to document the title or ownership of goods.

Israel’s largest cargo shipping company ZIM Integrated Shipping Services has opened its blockchain platform for electronic bills of lading (eB/Ls) to all clients in selected trades.Over the last year, following ZIM’s November 2017 announcement regarding the first-ever pilot of paperless Bills-of-Lading based on blockchain technology, ZIM and selected leading customers have been testing the new Platform as a solution for trade activities on multiple shipping lanes.Following the successful pilot, accomplished with the cooperation of Wave Ltd. and Sparx Logistics, ZIM continued to evaluate the platform in different trade lanes with more customers.