The delivery, made to a Samskip vessel via REINPLUS FIWADO Bunker barge in Rotterdam on September 7th, represents a landmark moment for the shipping industry, which has traditionally been beset by quality and quantity disputes when fueling vessels.
Unlike traditional bunker delivery notes (BDN), a paper document still widely used in the industry, blockchain – a decentralised, distributed and public digital ledger - provides end-to-end traceability of marine bunkering transactions from storage, to the barge or jetty, and on to the vessel’s fuel tank, thereby providing assurance to shipowners, shippers and charterers.
The landmark also represented the first transaction for Maritime Blockchain Labs (MBL), an initiative by BLOC of blockchain pilot projects conducted in collaboration with blockchain practitioners and industry actors. In addition, the event marked the first sustainable low carbon marine fuel delivery as part of the GoodShipping Program, which is part of MBL.
The GoodShipping Program requires shippers to commit to a reduction in their sea freight CO2 emissions by purchasing sustainable biofuels, based on the premise that, as all CO2 from container shipping is emitted into the same atmosphere, it doesn’t matter which vessels take on biofuel, as long as it is traceable.
Dirk Kronemeijer, CEO and Founder, GoodFuels, commented: “For too long shipping has been reliant upon paper transaction notes when bunkering, which expose shipowners, shippers and charterers to the potential of being misled on the quality and quantity of fuel. At GoodFuels, we are always striving to break convention – not for the sake of it, but because in this era there is no technological barrier to providing customers better assurance."
