PKI vs. Blockchain when Securing Maritime Operations

The maritime sector is rapidly being digitalized as part of the introduction of Shipping 4.0. One of the most important drivers for digitalization is the possibility to automate work processes on board and on shore. However, automating the work processes removes the human element from the process and by that the integrity and authenticity checks that humans do when information is received. To compensate for this, digital information transfers need to use equivalent mechanisms to authenticate the sender, guarantee the integrity of contents and sometime encrypt the data. Blockchain and public key encryption is the most commonly mentioned technologies for doing this. This paper will compare the two technologies, indicate strengths and weaknesses of each and give some examples of typical applications where each of the technologies can be used: Updates of nautical safety information to the ship; Port state reporting from ship to shore; and Approval Letter for ship building process.