Hong Kong-based Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN), a nonprofit consortium whose members handle one-third of all the shipping containers in the world, announced yesterday that its new blockchain platform for global trade has officially gone live. The platform, built in partnership with Oracle, Microsoft, AntChain and Alibaba Cloud, aims to accelerate digital transformation in the global shipping and trade sector.
Fast facts
- Blockchain technology has the potential to transform the global shipping trade by improving transparency, reducing the amount of paperwork required, lowering transaction costs and improving efficiency. The technology also enables different and often competing market participants to collaborate, said GSBN in a company statement.
- GSBN partnered with Oracle to use its blockchain platform in Oracle Cloud to build an enterprise-grade, permissioned blockchain for GSBN’s trade platform. Microsoft Azure was selected for the platform layer. AntGroup’s AntChain and Alibaba Cloud were selected for the platform’s deployment in China. GSBN’s platform is developed and operated by IQAX.
- “As an independent consortium, GSBN has the flexibility to choose a best of breed approach to technology to ensure its infrastructure is strong, reliable and highly scalable,” Edmund To, GSBN chief technology officer, told Forkast.News in an email.
- In July, GSBN launched its Cargo Release blockchain-enabled product that offers a paperless, efficient and transparent way to connect the shipping supply chain, including shipping lines, consignees and their agents at the port of import. Cargo Release has been rolled out in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, with partners such as COSCO Shipping Lines, OOCL, SIPG, Hutchison Ports and PSA International.
- “GSBN will continue to recruit shipping lines and terminals around the world to join the GSBN platform, as well as to expand the global trade ecosystem by creating bridges to new market participants such as banks, fintechs and other consortia,” To said.
See related article: How blockchain is transforming shipping and redefining global trade