Blockchain technology applied to the maritime industry.
Abstract
This research aims presenting the possibility of Blockchain technology applications
within the offshore maritime industry, while narrowing to Scandinavian and Norwegian
companies for the data collection. The chosen method was qualitative research and it was
performed seven interviews, being four with direct offshore operators and three with offshore
supporters. The results were analyzed based on a coding book created by the author based on
the topics explored in the interviews. The author also presents a framework to applying the
technology to solve challenges and enhance opportunities. The results showed that the
industry is driven by costs, as both enabler and barrier, and the willingness to innovate
depends on such, alongside with legal requirements proposed by authorities and the need to
“future proof” the fleet. The lack of knowledge about the technology and the cultural behavior
within the industry are also barriers to innovation. The main challenges for this study was the
lack of network required to have a broader reach within the industry and the difficulty to
measure the success (or lack of it) when applying the technology, due to the lack of public
available information for benchmarking and literature proposing such. Hence, a proposal for
further studies is to develop such methodology by following an application in the industry.