IDsure Powers Malta’s Digital Seaman’s Record Book

[By: IDsure.io]

IDsure.io, the Danish maritime digital identity and credentialing company, today announces that its technology powers the Digital Seaman’s Record Book launched by the Malta Ship Registry, administered by the Merchant Shipping Directorate within the Authority for Transport in Malta (Transport Malta). The solution has been delivered in collaboration with Galaxy Ltd and is now live and in production.

Malta operates the sixth largest ship register in the world and the largest in the European Union. With effect from Merchant Shipping Notice 118 Rev.2, issued on 23 September 2026, the Maltese Seaman’s Record Book is issued exclusively in digital format, replacing the physical book with a secure digital credential that seafarers access directly through their personal IDsure wallet.

From paper and post to a secure digital wallet
The Seaman’s Record Book is the official record of a seafarer’s service at sea throughout their career. Until now, it has been a physical document that had to be printed and often posted to seafarers working or travelling far from Malta.

With the new service, seafarers continue to apply online through the Merchant Shipping Directorate’s Seafarer Portal. Once an application has been processed, the seafarer is invited to download the IDsure app from the App Store or Google Play, verify their identity and receive their Digital Seaman’s Record Book directly in their wallet, wherever they are in the world. Seafarers can record their sea service in the digital record book and submit it for authentication by the Master or other authorised officials, without paper forms, stamps or courier delays.

Built for ease of use
IDsure has been designed around the daily reality of seafarers, Masters and crewing teams:

• Simple onboarding – Download the app, verify identity and receive the record book in minutes.
• Always available – The record book is on the seafarer’s phone, including offline while at sea.
• Digital sea-service entries – Service is recorded and authenticated by the Master digitally.
• Instant verification – Employers, port State control and authorities can check authenticity with a QR scan.

Security and trust by design
Every Digital Seaman’s Record Book issued through IDsure is cryptographically signed by the issuing authority and anchored on the Concordium blockchain. This makes each record tamper- proof and independently verifiable, helping the Malta Ship Registry protect the integrity of its documents and reduce the risk of fraud.

Each seafarer receives a personal wallet only after identity verification, and remains in control of who their data is shared with. IDsure operates under an ISO/IEC 27001 certified information security management system, with personal data handled in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation, and the service has been designed around relevant international maritime standards.

What Malta says
At the launch, Minister for Sustainable Mobility Chris Bonett noted that the initiative forms part of Government’s continued investment in modernising Malta’s maritime administration:
“Through initiatives such as the Digital Seaman’s Record Book, we are making essential services more accessible, efficient and secure for the people who depend on them, wherever in the world they may be.”

Dr. Ivan Tabone, Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen, said: “A seafarer should not have to depend on the physical delivery of an important professional document while moving between vessels, ports and countries. The Digital Seaman’s Record Book gives the individual secure and direct access to that document and provides a more practical means of maintaining and authenticating their sea-service records.” Read Transport Malta’s full press release: The Malta Ship Registry launches the Seaman’s Record Book in digital format

A statement from IDsure
Jesper Holmgren, CEO of IDsure, said: “Malta’s decision to issue the Seaman’s Record Book exclusively in digital format sends a strong signal to the whole maritime industry. For seafarers, it means their record book arrives on their phone within minutes of approval and stays with them wherever they sail, even offline at sea. For Masters, employers and port State control, it means any record can be verified in seconds with a simple QR scan. Behind that simplicity sits security that is never compromised: every record book is cryptographically signed by the Registry, tamper-proof and independently verifiable, and the seafarer stays in control of who sees their data. We are grateful to the Merchant Shipping Directorate for its trust, and to Galaxy Ltd for a strong partnership in delivering a service that is now live and in production for the largest ship register in the European Union.”

A statement from Galaxy Ltd
Reuben Zarb, Managing Director of Galaxy Ltd., said: “For many years, Galaxy has supplied and personalised the physical Seaman’s Record Book and other secure documents for the Merchant Shipping Directorate. Taking that same document into a digital format was a natural next step, and it had to meet the same high standards of security and anti-counterfeiting that the physical book has always carried. Partnering with IDsure has allowed us to combine our local experience in secure document issuance and system integration with a proven digital credential platform. The result is a service that seafarers can rely on anywhere in the world, and one that Transport Malta can trust just as fully as the documents we have produced together over the years.”

Looking ahead
The launch in Malta follows IDsure’s work with the Bahamas Maritime Authority and strengthens IDsure’s position as digital infrastructure for flag States seeking to replace paper-based seafarer documentation with secure, verifiable digital credentials.