Top Ocean Carriers and Terminal Operators to form Blockchain Consortium, Global Shipping Business Network

Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN), an open digital platform based on distributed ledger technology is formed with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) from Nine leading ocean carriers and terminal operators.

The participants include ocean carriers

• CMA CGM, 
• COSCO SHIPPING Lines, 
• Evergreen Marine, 
• OOCL, and 
• Yang Ming

Other terminal operators include

• DP World, 
• Hutchison Ports, 
• PSA International Pte Ltd, and 
• Shanghai International Port

along with software solutions provider CargoSmart.


The new Global Shipping Business Network will connect all stakeholders, including carriers, terminal operators, customs agencies, shippers, and logistics service providers to enable collaborative innovation and digital transformation in the supply chain on distributed ledger technology.

According to the annoucement, "The container shipping industry is often characterized by disparate processes that take place across both physical and digital domains. Companies are increasingly looking towards digital technologies to resolve siloed shipment management procedures and disruptive information gaps. The consortium will offer a forum to address these challenges, explore cross-industry opportunities, and empower future innovation and insights. The consortium’s leading members intend to collaboratively develop the platform and establish standards to facilitate the seamless sharing of documents and data across all stages of the shipping lifecycle."

The GSBN is set to digitally transform the shipping industry and bring in innovative supply chains. The GSBN platform will be Open and Extensible allowing members to write applications and connect to other consortium networks. This will help increase the speed of data integration and improve business performance. The obvious characteristic of distributed ledger technology is its property of transparency and immutability. It will allow data owners to share immutable records to other shipment stakeholders. Thus, helping them to take quick action regarding critical milestones and to keep cargo moving throughout the supply chain. Considering the top players in shipping industry, the GSBN will provide industry-wide common, trusted, and expansive digital model. It will serve as a foundation for highly collaborative initiatives and market intelligence.

CargoSmart is the leading player in the Consortium Formation and they have around 18 years of experience providing solutions that connect carriers, terminals, shippers, and forwarders. According to the announcement, "CargoSmart is leveraging its deep shipping domain knowledge, big data analytics, and expertise in developing software applications with artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain technologies to help network participants improve their shipping and logistics operations."

Executive Opionion

President of Shanghai International Port, Yan Jun, said, “The GSBN blockchain consortium has the potential to enable faster, more accurate processing of cargo information and more transparency of terminal operations to cargo owners.We look forward to using the latest technologies for optimizing shipping processes and collaboration.”

Co-chief executive officer of Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd, Andy Tung, said, “With the vision of a truly open blockchain platform for the industry, the GSBN will be key to the success of establishing a sustainable blockchain ecosystem for all stakeholders in the supply chain. OOCL is very excited to be a part of this highly collaborative environment that can facilitate the cross-pollination of ideas towards even more innovative business models and solutions for our customers,”

Director - Corporate Finance & Business Development of Hutchison Ports, Ivor Chow, said, “As a founding member of the GSBN consortium, Hutchison Ports recognises the potential of blockchain technology to be the key game changer with far-reaching impact on global supply chains, bringing immense benefits to all aspects of operations and end-to-end visibility throughout the entire supply chain. This collaboration brings together major industry players who strive to develop an open digital platform that will deliver efficiency gains and reduce costs of transactions,”.

Chief Executive Officer of CargoSmart, Steve Siu, said, “We are pleased to provide an industry-wide forum for collaboration based on blockchain technologies to transform the shipping and logistics industry and elevate supply chain processes,”

The GSBN provides the foundation for new applications. It can help transform documentation flow for shipment management including dangerous goods documents, invoices, and cargo release. The first planned application will allow shippers to digitize and organize their dangerous goods documents. The application will automatically connect with relevant stakeholders to streamline the approval process.

December 2018 is the timeline for the availability of the first application.