In August 2018, tech giant IBM and shipping powerhouse Maersk joined forces to form TradeLens, a jointly developed platform to apply blockchain to the planet’s supply chain. The product, enabled by blockchain technology, was developed to serve as a solution to promote efficiency and trustworthiness in global trade, involving several parties to support information sharing and, in the end, achieve innovation in the industry.
The TradeLens platform will have, starting from January 21st, 2019, a new collaborator in the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA,) which signed a pact to help IBM, according to a prominent European news site.
Spain’s Busiest Port Operator
The port of Algeciras is one of the most prominent in the European area, arguably in the top 10. It sees more than 70 million tons of cargo traffic each year, with a container throughput of 4.3 units in 2017 alone.
Thanks to the implementation of the TradeLens platform, APBA will be able to “securely and efficiently exchange information and documentation between partners within a supply chain,” according to a note. The same document also stated that the system will generate “value” for several actors within the industry, including shippers, freight forwarders, logistics operators and shipping companies, among others.
At the moment of announcing the TradeLens early adopter initiative, back in August, Maersk and IBM noted that almost 100 institutions (94, to be more precise) had agreed to take part on the platform.
TradeLens’s Numbers
According to Europa Press, the TradeLens solution had over 100 organizations and 20 port operators on board by December 2018. The initiative has been a resounding success, having registered more than 230 million shipments and processed an astonishing 20 million containers.
Awareness towards the blockchain technology has increased dramatically in the last year. Governments, universities, banks, and other enterprises, like cargo shipment companies and port operators, are beginning to understand its benefits and applications, fulfilling the potential to serve as a solution for trust and transparency at nearly all levels of production.
Blockchain as a Solution for Cargo Shipment Companies and Ports
Some of the world’s most prominent port operators have, therefore, been applying the technology for quite some time now as an attempt to streamline their operations and processes. For instance, the Port of Rotterdam, located in the Netherlands, formed a strategic alliance with widely known bank ABN AMRO and Samsung (through its IT department) to test blockchain for shipping purposes in October.
The United Arab Emirates also performed successful experiments with the blockchain technology in the cargo shipment industry. In June, one of Abu Dhabi Port’s subsidiaries (Maqta Gateway LLC) developed a blockchain initiative named Silsal to improve efficiency in logistics and shipping. Maqta Gateway LLC was the very first organization to come up with such a system.
The Associated British Ports, the most renowned port operator in the Great Britain area, also partnered with Marine Transport International, a digital logistics firm, to take advantage of blockchain as a life-saver when it comes to port logistics.
By Andres Chavez
