Chemical Cargo Gets More Secure with Blockchain-Enabled OS
The global shipping industry plays a critical role in enabling the movement of goods around the world. However, it is not without risks, particularly when it comes to transporting special cargo with designated goods like chemicals and lithium batteries.
To address this issue, the Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN) has collaborated with COSCO SHIPPING Lines, Orient Overseas Container Line, and the Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical Industry Testing to leverage blockchain technology to enhance transportation safety in the shipping industry.
Traditionally, shippers would collect certificates from accreditation bodies to certify that the cargo is safe to transport. However, these certificates can be hard to verify for carriers and subsequent transportation companies, leading to risks like mislabelling and fraud.
To streamline this process and ensure that the certificate data is accurate and reliable, GSBN’s blockchain-enabled platform has been used to develop a proof-of-concept with Midea, one of the largest electrical appliance manufacturers in the world.
Through GSBN, carriers like COSCO SHIPPING and Orient Overseas Container Line can verify certificates obtained by Midea for their cargo directly with the Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical Industry Testing.
The blockchain infrastructure attempts to ensure that the certificate data is immutable and structured, reducing human errors and enhancing the security of the cargo while accelerating the process overall.
The technology also aims to facilitate automated verification and the circulation of reliable certificate data stored on the blockchain among multiple parties. Additionally, with the integration of IoT technology in shipping, the data generated from connected devices can further enhance real-time visibility and traceability, driving the enhancement of transportation safety.
“The shipping industry is undergoing a once-in-a-lifetime digital transformation leap. As part of this, it is becoming increasingly important to be able to share information whilst retaining full control of who it is shared with as well as ownership of that data. The use of blockchain infrastructure in this proof-of-concept with SICIT allows for systematic and trusted verification to happen directly with SICIT, which, combined with the future application of data from IoT devices, will make a significant difference in risk reduction and efficiency enhancement overall,” said Bertrand Chen, chief executive officer of GSBN.
“Redefining the Safe Transportation certification process by harnessing GSBN’s blockchain infrastructure is a significant breakthrough in verification. Aside from enhancing transportation safety, the streamlined digital process also increases the overall efficiency, minimises human error caused during manual data entry, as well as provides greater transparency to all parties across the supply chain,” said Gaojun Wang, director of the information technology department at SICIT.
Image credit: iStockphoto/Cunaplus_M.Faba
