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Bitcoin Bill of Lading

Cryptographic-Bitcoinish Shipping Security
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Despotic leaders of sanctioned countries usually find ways around those sanctions if they are desperate enough— Kim Jung Un had an armored Mercedes Maybach delivered via means of a half-dozen or so countries before it landed in Pyongyang via way of Nakhodka port in Russia, unbeknownst to the hapless Germans who kindly built it for him.

Emails have secure handshaking methods of delivery identification. Bitcoin remembers each transaction. Why not require sea shippers to check in at each port they stop at, encode the port of entry in some handshake that also encodes each container being shipped, offloaded, etc?

Rotterdam could then have some kind of handshake that verifies where it’s cargo was offloaded and be certain it wasn’t North Evilstan.

Ports could keep better records of authorized and unauthorized shipments which could then be inspected.

Maybe they already do something like this.

RayfordSteele, Oct 18 2019

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       So far as I know, cryptography per se does not actually stop anyone from lying. Could you provide more detail on how this scheme would do so?
pertinax, Oct 18 2019
  

       It might help a little for bulk shipments, but as [pert] points out, if some part of the supply chain is dishonest then it's pointless.   

       Huge quantities of weapons get shipped around despite all the alleged sanctions and safeguards. If you offer people money they will ignore the "rules" or find a way round them,and there's always a way round them.   

       The main problem is that you seem to have the wrong sort of humans.   

       [-] for idealism and wishful thinking.
8th of 7, Oct 18 2019
  

       Wouldn’t it be called a Britcoin?
xenzag, Oct 18 2019
  

       What's offered is better traceability, including port history, that can assist in smuggling efforts to denied areas. Its not a perfect cure-all as ships can always stop at non-participating ports and onload and offload nonregistered cargo. But it could help cut down sanctions violations perhaps, and be a tool for slowing down trafficking. Containers that have handshaking records that don't agree with the other containers on board and the overall ship travel log could be viewed with suspicion and opened for examination.
RayfordSteele, Oct 18 2019
  

       They don't have to stop. Container contents can be swapped on board ship, quite easily. It happens all the time.   

       Often it's just because a reefer's broken down and the contents need to be moved to a spare - but it happens.   

       // Britcoin //   

       It's called the "Sovereign", a traditional British gold coin, untraceable ... only used, of course, when you put profit before morality and cheerfully sell weapons to friend and foe alike. Not that that ever happens ...
8th of 7, Oct 18 2019
  

       I thought Krugerrands where more common for that [8th]? but yes ...
Skewed, Oct 18 2019
  

       I oppose all opposition to privacy. That which can track the purchases of $evilguy can and will eventually be used to track my own.
Voice, Oct 18 2019
  

       Of course; criminals are much more trustworthy than governments.
8th of 7, Oct 18 2019
  

       Pretty sure this is already implemented by the guys who trade commodity futures: 1. Trader agrees to buy a shipload of commodity at some date and some port 2. Trader agrees to sell a shipload of that same commodity at some other date and port 3. Contracts are executed to insure that the cargo goes where it was contracted to go 4. Profit (maybe)   

       If by "unauthorized" you mean "unauthorized by governments affiliated with the international bank of settlements", then I don't think monitoring is your biggest problem.....
sninctown, Oct 20 2019
  

       But those are all disjointed from the ship, containers, their travel route. and such. My system would travel along with and be affected by every port of call and transfer event.
RayfordSteele, Oct 20 2019
  
      
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