Blockchain technology specialist Blockchain Labs for Open Collaboration (BLOC) has announced the establishment of a consortium, via subsidiary Maritime Blockchain Labs (MLB), with Lloyd’s Register, Precious Shipping, Bostomar, BIMCO, International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA), and GoodFuels to address traceability and transparency in the marine fuel supply chain.
The consortium will evaluate how blockchain technologies could help to provide an efficient, tamper-resistant and auditable chain of custody on quality and quantity recording activities, together with a reputation system of the compliance of fuels prior to purchase, benefitting both buyers and regulatory bodies. The idea is to help provide greater confidence in the fuel being purchased, ultimately resulting in reduced safety risk and creating a more trustworthy framework for accurately monitoring emissions from shipping such as sulphur, and carbon.
“MBL takes an industry-led approach – meaning that the solutions will be identified, designed, and tested by the industry itself, with MBL facilitating governance and developing the technology to ensure these solutions are relevant and used. A consortium approach is essential due to the need to cross regulatory boundaries and work within different organisational bodies and systems,” said Deanna MacDonald, CEO and co-founder of BLOC.
“As an off-taker of marine fuels, it’s vital for us to ensure that the fuel we use is compliant – particularly when we think about the market post-2020, and the need to ensure the quality of blended products coming in to meet the 0.5% Sulphur limit. Blockchain is ideally placed to create the reliable chain of custody we need to do this,” commented Khalid Hashim, managing director of Precious Shipping.
