Port of Antwerp to pilot blockchain container handling project

In collaboration with start-up company T-Mining, blockchain technology is being implemented through a pilot program at the Belgian port for increased security and efficiency in container handling.    The Port of Antwerp is working with start-up company T-Mining to develop a blockchain solution for safer container handling, the Belgian port said in a statement.
   Blockchain technology will allow processes that involve several parties, such as carriers, terminals, forwarders, drivers, etc, to be securely digitized without any central middleman involved, said the port. 
   “Just getting a container from point A to point B frequently involves more than 30 different parties, with an average of 200 interactions between them,” the port said. “Given that many of these interactions are carried out by e-mail, phone and even (still, nowadays) by fax, paperwork accounts for up to half of the cost of container transport.”
   T-Mining has developed the pilot project currently running with a limited number of parties at the Port of Antwerp.
   “With our blockchain platform the right truck driver is given clearance to collect a particular container, without any possibility of the process being intercepted,” said Nico Wauters, CEO of T-Mining.
   “Furthermore, our blockchain platform uses a distributed network, so that the transaction can go ahead only if there is consensus among all participating parties, thus excluding any attempts at fraud or undesired manipulations,” he added.
   The pilot project is running in conjunction with terminal operator PSA, ocean carrier MSC and an unnamed forwarder and transporter, said Wauters. The pilot project is also working out of an office in Singapore to introduce a solution there as well.
   “Our ambition is to serve the first paying customers by the end of this year,” said Wauters.
   American Shipper examined the factors that determine the success of blockchain technology and potential applications in the ocean shipping sector in the December 2016 feature article, “The digital ledger: A blockchain-backed bill of lading.“