Providing Secure Information Exchange for Transportation Management in a Decentralised Platform

This paper introduces the Maritime Connectivity Platform (MCP), as a means of achieving a decentralised, secure, and reliable data space both within the maritime domain and beyond. This is achieved by outlining three MCP core components: identity management, trust enforcement, and service discoverability. Several instances of these components can be networked together to provide a robust, decentralised system that is nevertheless secure and provides fine grain control of authentication and authorisation. Due to its decentralised nature the platform is intended as a starting point to be added to by subsequent users, but core services have been provided to ensure an already usable and meaningful data space. This is all intended to support the increasing need and desire for digitisation within the global maritime sector, but also additional transportation sectors such as inland waterways and truck or rail transportation. The system is currently in an advanced stage of development, with demonstrators having been constructed for the core components and several technical specifications already accepted by the relevant governing authorities.