One of the largest shipping companies in the world reported today that it has launched a solution based on Blockchain technology.

After a series of accidents involving an incorrectly weighed cargo, the International Maritime Organization introduced in 2016 the requirement for verification of the gross mass (VGM) under the Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).

Kuehne + Nagel now reports that they are using Blockchain technology “in a large-scale operating environment with 800,000 transactions per month” for their VGM portal.

The goal is to facilitate the exchange of information on weight verification and to exchange information with other parties, such as the shipper, ocean carrier or marine terminal.

Since the protocol is unchangeable, the general data cannot be changed by other parties, so they use this solution for production purposes.

“The list of promises related to the use of Blockchain in the logistics industry is long, but there are very few real applications,” says Martin Kolbe, Chief Information Officer of Kuehne + Nagel International, adding:

“The Kuehne + Nagel VGM Portal solution, developed by our marine experts and our IT team, allows us to gain hands-on experience with Blockchain technology in a production environment in place and with a large number of transactions.”

“Exploiting the VGM portal on Blockchain in a high-bandwidth operating environment provides valuable knowledge and expertise to develop collaborative applications,” says Kolbe.

It seems that the work of start-ups and constant testing of applications over the past few years are beginning to bring some results, at least in some areas. Thus, the technology is gradually beginning to be used in production.

Earlier, Maersk led the blockchain into the open sea.