Abu Dhabi, Belgium Ports Collaborate Over Blockchain Trade Pilot Project

Abu Dhabi Ports has collaborated with its Belgian partner to start a blockchain-powered supply chain pilot project, the company announced in a press release.

The project titled Silsal uses an electronic blockchain ledger system to offer full cargo visibility and streamline trade flows and supply chains. If tested productively, the Silsal project wishes to automate the exchange, identification, and acknowledgment of cargo documents between Abu Dhabi ports and Belgium’s Port of Antwerp. Each stakeholder serves as a node of blockchain network who gets to access and recognize the real-time supply chain of the shipped items.

In the pilot, which will be done during the fourth quarter of this year, the Silsal project will operate a Proof-of-Concept test where it will manage international documents to the Port of Antwerp using blockchain technology. These documents will possibly be verified by all stakeholders linked with each other through a secure link over an electronic ledger. Once recognized, the record will be permanently stored in a block that will still be accessible by the network’s participants.

Dr. Noura Al Dhaheri, CEO of Maqta Gateway, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Ports, stated the possibility of their project while talking at GITEX Technology Week.

He noted:

“We realized early on that blockchain technology can provide the very things necessary for reliability and integrity in the increasingly complex global supply chain. Silsal’s first international step today, working with the Port of Antwerp, is a manifestation of Abu Dhabi Ports’ commitment to secure Abu Dhabi’s global standing as a premier logistics, transport, and trade hub, and support the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030.”