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Israeli Blockchain Start-Up Completes First International Shipment

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Published Mar 11, 2019 7:09 PM by The Maritime Executive

Israeli-based blockchain start-up LogChain has completed its first full cycle of an international blockchain-backed maritime shipment. 

The successful shipment of beverages from Belgium to Israel was carried out using the end-to-end digitized and tamper-proof LogChain platform which handles all aspects of the supply-chain including electronic bill of lading and Letter of Credit.

The LogChain platform reduces an estimated seven to nine percent of shipment costs and can reduce approximately two weeks of documentation time down to few minutes, removing altogether the need for original documentation using carriers.

As all features are fully orchestrated by LogChain's smart contracts and invoked by the freight-forwarder, exporter and the importer involved – they are all accessible and visible to all parties in the supply chain, until the shipment is successfully released by the shipping company. 

The LogChain platform is running on Microsoft Azure cloud solution, using Ethereum. Founded in 2018, LogChain is a global supply chain and trade finance blockchain platform backed by technology and IT company Aman Group. 

The shipment is not a first for the industry. On January 31, 2019, Pacific International Lines used an electronic Bill of Lading built on the IBM Blockchain Platform in a successful real-time pilot tracking shipment of mandarin oranges from China for the Lunar New Year celebrations.

In November last year, nine ocean carriers and terminal operators signed an MOU to form a consortium to develop the Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN), an open digital platform based on blockchain technology. The participants include ocean carriers CMA CGM, COSCO Shipping Lines, Evergreen Marine, OOCL, and Yang Ming; terminal operators DP World, Hutchison Ports, PSA International and Shanghai International Port; and software company CargoSmart. The new platform will connect all stakeholders, including carriers, terminal operators, customs agencies, shippers and logistics service providers to digitize their supply chain.