Marified was a finalist of PIER71’s Smart Port Challenge 2019. In a recent joint announcement by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the National University of Singapore (NUS), through its entrepreneurial arm NUS Enterprise, it was awarded S$50,000 in grant funding from MPA towards prototype development and test-bedding of their solutions. We got a chance to talk to Marat Zalalov, CEO & Co-Founder, Marified on his take on things. This is the first part of our interview.

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to talk to Asia Blockchain Review, how has 2020 been so far?

So far the year was very exciting, to say the least. Despite all the COVID-19 related changes we managed to raise seed capital in February 2020 (just before the panic) and received an MPA grant in May 2020 to run a pilot project in partnership with British oil major BP.

With the ongoing pandemic and the ramifications of it, how are things at your company?

Like most businesses, we see the hesitation on the part of potential customers, as businesses behave very much like consumers in the face of such dramatic events and reduce consumption. On the other hand, we see a lot of interest from large players trying to leverage digital, as most of them understand that every crisis is an opportunity. Moreover, being in Singapore is very much a blessing – we face support from many Governmental bodies and private initiatives, e.g. MPA, PIER71, IMDA, NUS, PortXL to name a few. For Marified, I believe, pros and cons have balanced themselves out.

Please explain how your company is disrupting the industry with its solutions?

Our ultimate goal is to improve seafarer safety at sea, and to achieve this goal we are employing cutting edge technologies, e.g. one such application is blockchain, to secure seafarer credentials from tampering. This is our starting point. Naturally, we accumulate seafarer data and deploy AI/ML to deliver insights for our customers, such as cultural fit, career recommendations, etc. Thus, we can increase the probability of hiring a competent seafarer who fits into the culture of the company and improve the chances of him staying and growing with the company. The outcome is – reduced seafarer turnover, fewer mistakes / less damage, millions of dollars and hundreds of lives saved.

What is your perspective on blockchain technology and the fusion of 5G, IOT, AI/ML, big data and cloud computing in the maritime industry? Are things still in its infancy?

 You are absolutely right, the maritime industry is only making first steps in this direction, although there are outliers (and some companies are far ahead of the mainstream). It is a very complex industry, with multiple jurisdictions, making data exchange challenging. We see a significant push into the use of blockchain in maritime trade, e.g. bills of lading. Having the Singapore Government back the TradeTrust initiative and large multinationals like Maersk creating their own platforms, I believe that very soon (especially with the COVID-19 fueling digitalisation) the road will widen for other solutions.

Be sure to check out the second part of this interview next week!

Marified has created a digital wallet that secures a seafarer’s certifications against forgery and is accessible from anywhere in the world. For more information, head to www.marified.network

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About the author

Anil Prabha

Editor In Chief

Anil started his career in journalism all the way back in 2003. After traversing the sphere of editorial, corporate communications and advertising, he has now come full circle and is back in the world of journalism. He believes in the power of the written word, and its ability to enthrall, delight and inform the reader.