French Government Shows Blockchain Support for Marseille Fos Port in Freight Logistics Pilot

Marseille Fors Port, France’s leading seaport and the second largest Mediterranean port, has announced it will be participating in a blockchain pilot for freight logistics to be organized by Marseille Gyptis International, BuyCo and KeeeX later in June 2019, according to reports released March 6, 2019

France’s Largest Seaport set to Integrate Blockchain Technology

Per sources close to the matter, Marseille Fors Port, France’s leading seaport has announced plans to join a distributed ledger technology (DLT) pilot for the French supply chain and freight logistics ecosystem scheduled to go live in June 2019.

Specifically, the blockchain pilot is being jointly organized by KeeeX, a blockchain and augmented data platform, BuyCo, a shipping company that offers clients cloud-based shipping management solutions, and Marseille Gyptis International, a France-based logistics firm.

Slated to go live in June 2019, the pilot project is focused on using the revolutionary blockchain technology for supply chain logistics and intermodal freight logistics on the Mediterranean-Rhone-Saone axis (MeRS) transport corridor.

Examining The Potentials Of DLT In Port Logistics

Blockchain technology has started gaining traction in various sectors of the global economy, including in healthcare, arts, healthcare, and even finance.

Now, the French team is poised to use the blockchain pilot in discovering the capabilities of the groundbreaking technology and ascertain whether it can promote efficient data management in the digital transport chain.

The pilot is also targeted at increasing the security of data shared between authorized port logistics participants.

The French Government Backs The Blockchain Pilot

Reportedly, the DLT project is backed by key government parastatals in France, including the Interministerial Delegation for the development of the Port and logistics for MeRS, the nation's public sector financial institution, Caisse des Depots, an energy firm, Compagnie National Rhone and Voies navigables.

As reported by Bitcoin Exchange Guide on March 6, 2019, IBM X-Force Red, a security team of blockchain heavyweight, IBM, launched a DLT solution to be used in testing the strengths and weaknesses of distributed ledgers.

Earlier in February 2019, reports emerged that IBM had collaborated with Pacific International Lines to use DLT to facilitate the shipping of 108,000 mandarin oranges to Singapore.

“Powered by blockchain technology, the e-BL developed by IBM Research Singapore will be critical in helping to establish an extensible ecosystem for trade, thus expectedly enhancing trade relationships among the industry players,” said Harriet Green, CEO and Chairman of IBM Asia at the time.