The largest port in the Middle Eastern nation of Oman has signed up with TradeLens, a blockchain supply chain platform founded by IBM and Maersk, to become a member of the shipping data project as part of its digital transformation efforts.
The platform enables companies along the shipping supply chain to share data on cargoes in real time over its permissioned blockchain, ultimately aiming to bring improved transparency and efficiency to international trade. The port is working with other entities in the supply chain to digitize its operations and TradeLens provides the vessel to bring a global transparency standard to shipping operations.
Mark Hardiman, CEO of Port of Salalah said:
Adopting and incorporating blockchain technology into all aspects of the supply chain will not only enhance the attractiveness of Salalah for [ecosystem] companies but also support the development of new business models that can further leverage the geographical location of Salalah.
Launched in 2018, the TradeLens platform has over 100 participants, and processes over 10 million discrete shipping events and thousands of documents each week.
The project has received an antitrust exemption from the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission, which arose to clear the project from legal restrictions in cooperation between shipping companies mandated by the U.S. Shipping Act of 1984.
Blockchain within the shipping and maritime industry seems to be one of the most effective and fastest growing use cases, as five of the six largest container shipping firms in the world are now being processed on a block-chain powered platform. It's only a matter of time before this supply chain technology reaches the shores of Australia.