MSC, GSBN join forces on safety of lithium battery shipments

Switzerland-based MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company has teamed up with Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN), a global not-for-profit blockchain-based platform, to trial Integrated Safe Transportation Certification Verification Process with the aim of enhancing safety in transporting lithium battery shipments.

The increasing presence of lithium-ion batteries carried on container ships amid rising misdeclarations has become a major concern for the shipping industry given the risk of fire. In its collaboration, MSC integrated its lithium battery shipment booking process with GSBN, which has extensive access to China’s top testing laboratories and certification providers, including SICIT and Pony Testing.

This means following testing, immutable safe transportation certificates can be shared directly by the laboratories over GSBN’s blockchain network and can be accessed during booking by MSC. GSBM said that this will replace an often paper-based process in which such certificates are hard to verify and carried risks such as loss, mislabelling as well as fraud. The intention is to extend the collaboration to a wider group of certificates as well as expanding the network of laboratories to increase the coverage for carriers.

“The unprecedented demand for lithium shipments has introduced new challenges for the industry and those who work in it. Our aim is through these collaborations is to harness technology to support the global effort to sustainability and mark a new era in shipping safety. As we look ahead, we aim to extend our collaboration to even more shipping lines and certification providers globally to ensure that every journey safeguards lives,” Bertrand Chen, CEO at GSBN, said.

“Our collaboration with GSBN offers the best of both worlds. We can offer customers a more streamlined experience from the point of booking, while ensuring that cargo requiring special handling can be safely transported. This has only been made possible by GSBN’s blockchain network and through it, its access to top testing laboratories and certification providers in China, one of the world’s top exporters of goods with lithium-ion batteries,” Dirk Van de Velde, Chief Health, Safety, Security and Environment Officer at MSC, said.

The latest announcement builds upon earlier collaborations with members including COSCO Shipping and OOCL. Namely, last year COSCO SHIPPING Lines (COSCO SHIPPING), Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), and the Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical Industry Testing Co., Ltd (SICIT), teamed up with GSBN to improve transportation safety of chemical cargo by harnessing blockchain technology.

The four companies have leveraged blockchain technology to achieve an industry first proof-of-concept that helps enhance transportation safety in the shipping industry. As industry best practice, special cargo with designated goods, such as chemicals and lithium batteries, should be certified as safe to transport before they are handed over to logistics and shipping companies for export. This is important because carriers will manage the transportation based on the corresponding certification to mitigate the risk of potential accidents and protect crew.

By harnessing GSBN’s blockchain-enabled platform, a new streamlined process has been designed to ensure that safe transportation certificates and the information they contain can be verified from the original source, and the information is accurate and reliable.

To demonstrate this, the four  companies have been developed a proof-of-concept with shipper Midea, one of the largest electrical appliances manufacturers in the world. Over GSBN, both COSCO SHIPPING and OOCL will be able to verify certificates obtained by Midea for their cargo directly with SICIT.