Standard Chartered has joined TradeLens, the US-based blockchain shipping platform created by IBM and Denmark-based logistics company Maersk.

As a participant institution, Standard Chartered will be able to validate the authenticity of shipments in real-time using documents securely exchanged between networked entities. Before on-boarding its first bank this week, TradeLens’ 150+ members included international port and terminal operators, ocean carriers and intermodal providers, customs authorities, freight forwarders, logistics companies, government authorities and cargo owners.

TradeLens is a global supply chain solution with a focus on containerised freight and logistics, which was first launched by IBM and Maersk back in April 2018. It operates by providing standards-based open APIs that enable supply chain data to be immutably tracked and shared using a permissioned blockchain. In combination with blockchain. TradeLens uses the Internet of Things (IoT) and sensor data for the monitoring of a range of variables, from temperature control to container weight.