Sean M. Holt

Industry Readies for Blockchain Summit Singapore

By Sean M. Holt 2018-08-26 22:18:31

As MarEx continues its persistent coverage of blockchain technology for the maritime industry, we will be attending the Blockchain Summit Singapore on August 28. Blockchain Summit Singapore is a one-day conference and exhibition connecting over 700 industry leaders, business decision makers, tech innovators and investors. Blockchain Summit is the largest dedicated Blockchain Event Series in the world. With no co-located side events, it is purely a Blockchain focused audience. There are over 60+ speakers, 25 case studies and 34 sessions...

Exploring Blockchain at Bloconomic 2018

By Sean M. Holt 2018-07-23 11:48:35

Thanks to the transparency and security inherent in its design, blockchain technology is gaining traction in multiple sectors, including the maritime industry. BLOCONOMIC 2018, an interdisciplinary blockchain conference, will be hosted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 16 and 17. It is expected to draw thousands of attendees from over 30 countries, with representatives from sectors that range from energy, finance, government, and academia, BLOCONOMIC 2018 intends to foster multi-disciplinary collaborations. Use-cases to be addressed will cover provenance (traceability and Q/A), supply chain...

Southern Points of Entry

By Sean M. Holt 2017-11-29 18:22:34

For centuries prior to the advent of the intermodal container, the unloading process known as “breaking bulk,” or extracting a portion of the cargo of a vessel, was the norm. Whether it be boxes, crates, drums, barrels, pallets, skids or wind farm equipment, these bulk items are transferred from ship to ground to market at a “break-in-bulk point.” And although containers are now ubiquitous, the dry bulk trade totaled 4.9 billion tons in 2016, according to Clarkson’s, or 44 percent...

Man the Ships!

By Sean M. Holt 2017-09-17 03:30:28

(This article was originally was published in the 2017 July/August edition) There are many words for a seafarer, some good, some not. But there can be no doubt that seafarers are society’s first truly international community. Regardless of a vessel’s working language, multiculturalism is second nature to those who work at sea, and there are few endeavors in life that broaden one’s myopic view of the world as much as seafaring. And just as teamwork is essential to a company’s...

The Edge of Tomorrow

By Sean M. Holt 2017-08-08 18:26:04

Designing tomorrow’s ships today. Some say the future is created by designing it. Rolls- Royce says it is “Bringing the Future to You” through advances in digital technology and the development of remote capabilities. In this article we journey around the globe to showcase a sampling of advances in smart ship technology and design, so let’s begin with a vision of future shipping from a Rolls-Royce white paper on “Ship Intelligence”: “GPS signal lost for vessel...

Class Survey

By Sean M. Holt 2017-07-30 00:44:14

A Former Surveyor Looks at The Origins and Current Status of Classification Societies. It’s out. The List has been posted!” proclaimed a loud voice in a coffee house full of regal gentlemen – and maritime executives – as they partook of Edward Lloyd’s high-octane libations. The year was 1702. Here, one of history’s first-known “register of ships” began circulation, although not officially called that until 1764 when first published as Lloyd’s Register of Shipping. As was...