Lloyds Register of Shipping (LR) started in 1764. The purpose of the register is to classify ships by type and condition for insurance and also for anyone looking to charter the ship. Today LR announced a prototype blockchain-enabled register tool.
The Register contains information such as the type of vessel, its gross tonnage, when it was last inspected, and the flag under which it sails. This is the process of entering a ship into ‘Class’.
Nick Brown, LR Marine & Offshore Director, commented: “A blockchain-based register provides immutability and auditability, therefore providing enhanced trust in the information provided on the platform and also potentially facilitating the trusted information to be available ‘up-to-the-minute’ allowing financing, insuring, payments, etc to be provided more dynamically.”
He continued: “We are now focused on how we can extend the value to other stakeholders in the maritime supply chain.”
It seems LR was concerned about being seen to jump on the blockchain bandwagon. LR Lead Technical Specialist, Marine and Offshore, Gary Pogson said: “In looking at potential solutions, we’ve been careful to ask whether blockchain is a valid component of a solution. In our view, applied carefully as part of a well-designed system, it is uniquely disposed to offer additional value and set a foundation for the maritime industry’s future needs.”
LR’s technology partner is London based Applied Blockchain.
The marine industry is no stranger to blockchain. Container company Maersk is part of the EY/Guardtime marine insurance project and also has the TradeLens venture with IBM for supply chain tracking.
