Vakt – a blockchain-powered, commodities-focused post-trade services provider – has teamed up with essDOCS – a company specified in building paperless trade tools – to integrate blockchain in European shipping system. 

Reported by Benzinga on September 20, through a memorandum of understanding between the 2 organizations, a blockchain-based project will be initiated, with a goal to digitalise post-trade protocols in barge shipping within the EU region.

Although the solution is previously set to be rolled out only in the northwest area of Europe, global reach is the final aim of the firms for this solution. 

“Trading parties would agree on information to send on to the terminal, which would add its own information before sending on to barge captains to agree and sign for the product and quantities loaded or discharged from the vessel. This lengthy process results in several paper documents including the barge receipt, which when physically signed allowed the barge to sail and the seller to invoice the buyer.”

In February 2019, 4 new customers have agreed to do business with Vakt, which consequently means that the platform will be facilitating more than half (⅔) of oils-related tradings in the North Sea sector.

Etienne Amic – current head of the Vakt platform – claimed that the more real cases of blockchain implementation in the field of energy happen, the more organizations will turn to blockchain for a viable solution in the long run.