The Philippines’ seafarers are going paperless with the help of blockchain technology
Seafarers in Asia will no longer need to go through the hassle of carrying their documents to their ships following an ingenious use of distributed ledger technology (DLT). A Manila Times report says the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP) has launched an e-wallet to hold the credentials of cadets using blockchain technology.
The records of all cadets can be scanned using a QR code and will be used for the academic year 2022-2023. The launch coincides with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Nautical Institute, which was held on 18 November.
“It’s very difficult to hack. So what we did is all our cadets now, their certificate will have QR codes. A picture has been taken of it [these], and they are loaded into the cadet’s e-wallet. The cadet will only show his e-wallet to show his certificates, said Vice Admiral Eduardo Ma R. Santos, president of MAAP.
As an additional layer of security, the cadets cannot tamper with the records in the e-wallet while details are backed up in MAAP’s central server. The institution confirms that seafarers can use the e-wallet for life, but shipowners and staffing companies may be charged for using the service.
MAAP’s president expressed optimism that the successes of the e-wallet could catalyze other maritime institutions to adopt distributed ledgers as a way to digitize their operations. The offer eliminates the need for seafarers to bear the risk of damage to their documents by transporting them to sea.
Southeast Asia embrace DLT
Southeast Asia has emerged as one of the leading regions in terms of DLT adoption, with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse contributing to the calculations. In the Philippines, 89% of the working-class population yearns to switch office operations to the metaverse, according to Ciena research.
“85% of Filipino respondents envision their organization introducing virtual reality space platforms into their existing workflow, and over two-thirds (69%) believe their organization will move away from today’s static collaboration tools to a more immersive or virtual reality -based environment within the next three years,” the report said.
A Blockchain Council of the Philippines has been launched to promote the adoption of DLT in the country with the lofty goal of being the “Blockchain Capital of Asia.” Technology firms are increasingly moving towards DLT, with Twala leading the charge with the offering of digital IDs.
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