Blockchain Witnesses Increased Adoption by Logistics Industry; Belgium & Abu Dhabi Ports Launch Trade Pilot

By Swati Kishore

Belgium’s Port of Antwerp and the subsidiary of Abu dhabi Ports are collaborating for a Blockchain project that aims to facilitate international trade. The Blockchain pilot’s Proof of concept trial will be carried out with the help of the Blockchain platform, Silsal, by the Maqta Gateway. Silsal was released early this year to streamline the shipping industry by connecting exporters and importers in an efficient manner.

The trial will facilitate the process of documentation management between the two ports by way of streamlining trade flows and supply chains, as well as providing cargo visibility. The main aim of this Blockchain Trade pilot is to explore how Blockchain-based trade systems can be scaled up. Another motive is to investigate the possibilities of lower integration costs and heightened transaction security. The pilot is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

The Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Ports, Mohammed Juma Al Shamisi, was quoted as saying:

“This is an important moment for us as we prepare to implement the first applied blockchain solution of its kind between Abu Dhabi and the world. Our technology experts at Maqta Gateway are working with world-class international partners, such as the Port of Antwerp, to deliver fast, reliable, and secure trade transactions through rigorous development and testing programs.”

The news of this pilot project comes amidst the slew of Blockchain innovations taking over the global logistics industry. FedEx, the American courier delivery service giant, announced last month that it has successfully joined the Hyperledger Blockchain consortium. FedEx said that the aim of this partnership is to deploy Blockchain across its global processes. Another news came from IBM. The American tech giant partnered with Danish logistics conglomerate, Maersk, to develop a Blockchain-based international trade platform, called TradeLenswith.

It is to be noted that the majority of logistics companies are increasingly turning their focus towards the revolutionary distributed ledger technology in order to streamline their processes. In fact, Distributed Ledger Technologies are expected to facilitate a whopping USD 1 trillion worth of global trade in the next 10 years. These statistics were reported by the World Economic Forum and Bain & Company in a recent report.

Swati Kishore

Swati has a keen interest in emerging technologies and she loves to write about them. She loves trance and is also interested in the philosophy of life.

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