Abu Dhabi Sees Launch of First Local Blockchain Platform

Blockchain technology recently entered another border where it’s poised to expand and proliferate. Cointelegraph reports that a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Ports, Maqta Gateway LLC, has just become the first company to implement its own blockchain system in the United Arab Emirates capital.

The subsidiary successfully created and launched Silsal, a blockchain-based platform that means to bolster the efficiency of the shipping and logistics industry. The platform will first cater to freight forwarders and their clients, ultimately expanding itself to the "rest of the trade community as a complementary tool to the existing mPCS (Maqta’s Port Community System),” according to Construction Business News.

Silsal aims to decrease paperwork, assist in giving real-time updates on cargos, and speed up data transfer between parties involved. Dr. Noura Al Dhaheri, CEO of Maqta Gateway, stressed the technology’s importance in allowing the transition of trade in the digital space.

Internally designed by Maqta Gateway’s Digital Innovation Lab, the platform has already gone through tests with the help of Abu Dhabi Ports’ strategic customers. “This will eliminate the need for access through passwords which can often be a security risk,” the CEO said.

Indeed, human errors can be the cause of such security breaches and the elimination of passwords will certainly reduce this oversight. Security services are already offering protection of data from malicious entities trying to infiltrate a system to gain valuable information.

As for blockchain and its effect on the shipping economy, the World Economic Forum estimates that the innovation could save about 20 percent of operating expenditures by transportation firms. FedEx CEO Fred Smith even hails blockchain as the “next frontier” for supply chain business around the world.

However, as blockchain is still relatively new to the mainstream industry, the regulations surrounding it are just as young. Thus, it’s imperative that legislators take a look at what legal framework should be put up to protect companies and consumers alike.