The main trade seaport of France, Marseille Fos Port, will participate in a blockchain pilot for freight logistics in June 2019, local industry news outlet PortSEurope reports on March 6. The project aims to use blockchain technology for supply chain logistics and intermodal freight forwarding on the Mediterranean-Rhône-Saône axis (MeRS) transport corridor. According to the report, the blockchain initiative is supported French authority, the Interministerial Delegation for the development of the port and logistics for MeRS. The project is also reportedly backed and supported financially by the French public sector financial institution Caisse des Dépôts, navigation authority Voies navigables de …

The Russian Ministry of Transport is reportedly planning to trial blockchain shipping solution TradeLens developed by IBM and Maersk, Russian financial media Kommersant reported on Tuesday, Feb. 26 Kommersant received a copy of an official letter addressed to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov, who is oversees transport policy. According to the document, the Ministry of Transport and its subsidiary will sign a memorandum of understanding with Maersk to launch a pilot of TradeLens in Russia’s second largest port, the Big port of St. Petersburg. As per the letter, the officials expect TradeLens to reduce paperwork by using smart contracts …

India’s largest e-commerce firm, mjunction services limited, has entered into a strategic partnership with blockchain shipping firm Shipnext, global maritime news agency Sea News reports Feb. 20. The new partnership intends to boost efficiency across mjunction’s supply chain, bringing value-added services to its clients, mjunction CEO Vinaya Varma said. Alexander Varvarenko, founder and CEO of Shipnext, said that mjunction’s large cargo base is expected to attract more traffic, shipowners and ship operators to Shipnext platforms. Mjunction services ltd is a joint venture of two Indian steel giants – the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Tata Steel. Mjunction is reportedly …

A blockchain-enabled waste permit portal will be launched in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the country’s official news agency, Emirates News Agency (WAM), reported on Feb. 17. The blockchain-based waste permit portal will be jointly developed by environmental, recycling and waste management company Bee’ah and the Hamriyah Free Zone Authority (HFZA) — the city of Sharjah’s free trade zone. According to WAM, the platform is the first in the city to employ blockchain technology to validate, process and store transactions. According to the report, the platform will cut costs for customers applying for permits within HFZA as well as …

Russian shipping logistics company Infotech Baltika will develop a blockchain-based system for the ports in which it operates, Russian maritime news outlet Morvesti reported on Feb. 11. To develop the blockchain-based solution, dubbed Edge.Port, the firm has partnered with Moscow-based blockchain startup Iconic. The network will reportedly allow participants in port activity to store all necessary documentation on a blockchain. According to Morvesti, all services in port, including vessel parking and tug boat rentals, can be ordered and tracked online via the system, without time-consuming paperwork. Infotech Baltika told the publication that Edge.Port will enable the firm to reduce the …

The investment arm of logistics giant UPS has made an undisclosed equity investment in United States enterprise blockchain company Inxeption, the firm confirmed in a press release Jan 16. Inxeption, which began operations in 2017, aims to use blockchain technology to improve various processes for businesses, including product design, manufacturing and supply chain management. Neither party has revealed the scope of the deal, which will reportedly see Inxeption and the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund work in tandem in future to develop new features for Inxeption’s platform. “Business customers need secure platforms that protect their customer data and proprietary information, while …

Israel’s largest cargo shipping company Zim has opened its blockchain platform for electronic bills of lading (eB/Ls) to all clients in selected trades. Global shipping news outlet TradeWinds reported the news today, Jan. 14. Following a successful pilot of its blockchain-powered eB/Ls platform that lasted for over a year, the shipping firm has claimed that blockchain can not only replace the currently existing paper-based processes, but also improve the workflow conducted via email, fax, and other channels. According to TradeWinds’ report, two recent transactions on the platform were successfully conducted in less than two hours each — as opposed to …

Senior executives at United Airlines (UA) and logistics giant UPS think 2019 will not be the year blockchain goes mainstream, the Wall Street Journal reported on Dec. 28. Speaking to the publication, UPS chief engineering and information officer Juan Perez and UA’s executive vice president of technology and chief digital officer Linda Jojo remained level-headed on blockchain’s prospects. “We have a small team looking at blockchain, but we are still searching for the killer use case,” Jojo said. As 2018 draws to a close, blockchain has faced mixed reviews in the press and from businesses, some sources claiming the technology …

Blockchain could make its way into disaster relief operations from the United States Department of Defense, the organization revealed in a press release Dec. 21. During a presentation hosted by the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support’s Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) office in Philadelphia earlier this month, officials reviewed how blockchain technology could help emergencies responses. Efforts to provide aid following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico were used as a case study. “We think there’s a lot of potential [in blockchain],” CPI management analyst Elijah Londo commented, quoted in the press release: “Where do we want to be as an organization …

Two South Korean government ministries have launched a blockchain pilot for port logistics innovation, according to a press release from the country’s Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIT), published Dec. 18. MSIT, together with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, are reportedly testing whether the technology can make Korea’s container shipping industry more efficient. As the press release outlines, the pilot will run over a period of one year in the Port of Busan, the country’s largest port, and the fifth busiest container port worldwide. The initiative aims to ascertain whether leveraging blockchain technology can successfully increase transparency …

Global retail giant Auchan is expanding TE-FOOD’s blockchain solution to improve the transparency of products’ history, U.S.-based news agency Cision PRWeb reports today, Dec. 4. The French retail group, which is reportedly the 13th largest food retailer globally with operations in 17 countries, has extended TE-FOOD’s FoodChain solution to five more countries. FoodChain is the international traceability information ledger by TE-FOOD, first applied by Auchan in its Vietnam branch. After a 18-month test of TE-FOOD’s blockchain tool in Vietnam, Auchan has now decided to deploy the products’ traceability solution in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Senegal. The blockchain-powered retail monitoring …

The World Trade Organization (WTO) released a report on blockchain technology’s effect on international trade today, Nov. 27. Per the study, blockchain’s economic value-add on a global scale could reach almost $3 trillion by 2030. “Blockchain and International Trade: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for International Trade Cooperation” analyzes blockchain applications and challenges that must be considered before the technology’s deployment in various sectors. The study considers the technology’s effect on industries such as trade finance, customs clearance, logistics and transportation. Blockchain Business Value Forecast. Source: WTO The study estimates that blockchain has the potential to significantly cut trade costs by …