T-Mining Runs Blockchain for Containers
Belgian blockchain startup T-Mining is currently running a blockchain-based pilot project at the port of Antwerp, the second largest port in Europe by container capacity. The pilot is designed to make container handling at the port more efficient and secure.
T-Mining explained that moving containers often involves more than 30 different parties, including carriers, terminals, forwarders, haulers, drivers, shippers, and more. This process results in hundreds of interactions between those parties, conducted through a mix of e-mail, phone, and fax.
T-Mining CEO Nico Wauters said the use of blockchain technology can offer a safer and faster transfer of valuable objects, fully digitized and without a middleman, making it highly suitable for handling the vast number of container movements at the port.
“We have developed a very secure solution for this,” said Wauters. “Currently, when we want to transfer a valuable object, we generally make use of a trusted intermediary to carry out the transfer. For instance, when you want to sell a house, the notary not only carries out all the paperwork, but also ensures that the money lands safely in your bank account while the buyer receives full title to the property without any unpleasant surprises for either party. But this intermediary naturally does not work for free, and furthermore the additional step causes extra delay.”
Wauters added that with their blockchain platform, the right truck driver is given clearance to collect a particular container, without any possibility of the process being intercepted. The T-Mining blockchain platform also uses a distributed network, so that the transaction can go ahead only if there is consensus among all participating parties, thus excluding any attempts at fraud or undesired manipulations.
