Page 31: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 2020)

Insights | Blockchain 2020 SHIPPING & PORT ANNUAL

Untrustworthy Certi? cates?

Blockchain Technology is the Solution

By Capt. Harvinder Vats, Superintendent - Darya Shipping Pvt. Ltd.

eafarers possess countless certi? cates in their bag. proof. We have to look to technologies for solutions.

To reach master competency level, I have been to Blockchain technology is one solution to the question of the various maritime institutes almost every year of my genuineness of the certi? cates. Blockchain is considered to

Scareer, for competency courses at 2nd mate, chief be a highly secure system due to its digital signature and en- mate and master level, or for modular STCW courses, various cryption. The information is stored as an encrypted hash on value-added courses and even in-house company courses. a block that has its own identity and linked to the previous

With amendments in the STCW convention, these numbers block, thus making a chain of blocks that are interconnected. grow exponentially. Logically, these certi? cates de? ne us, our The encrypted hash is a complicated string of mathematical competence and our ? tness for joining a ship. Many times numbers that is impossible to be altered. The alteration in any ships have faced penalties or detentions if any of their crew block will be identi? ed and rejected by the other blocks in do not possess the required certi? cates. My complete profes- the chain as this alteration will not qualify the encrypted hash sional journey of 16 years in shipping can be portrayed by of linked blocks. The system is specially designed to be se- a bunch of these certi? cates. Sometimes I consider them my cure, convenient, and tamper-proof. This immutable and in- identity, my hard-earned assets. corruptible nature of block-chain makes it safe from falsi? ed

With all of the time and money that can go into the acquisi- information and hacks. The blockchain data is often stored tion of certi? cates, they can be jeapordized in an instant if, in thousands of devices on a distributed network of nodes. for examle, an institute is charged for malpractices and all the This decentralized nature makes this technology immune to seafarers who have completed courses there come under the temper. It is not that easy to access, and if so, any piece of scrutiny. Though most seafarers may be innocent. Their en- information can be easily recovered. Blockchain-based issued tire professional carrier is at stake now. This event has created certi? cates from institutes are trusted as they are temper proof chaos among the seafarer on the authenticity of the institutes and simplifying the process of document veri? cation when- and the certi? cates they carry. There is a sign of lacking in ever required during the third-party inspections. self-assurance with this traditional system of certi? cation at Darya Shipping has generated a blockchain based certi? ca- the institutes. The certi? cates generation and issuance are still tion platform to secure issued certi? cates and to issue new manual hard copy which does not guarantee it to be tamper- secured digital certi? cates.

Darya Shipping www.marinelink.com 31

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