A salutary "should have known better" note

AntarcticPilot said:
Sounds like someone chasing the latest buzzword! "Blockchain" is the latest snake oil in the IT world - beyond its origins in Bitcoins, I don't think there's a single verified use of it that demonstrates advantages over more conventional technology. There are enormous problems in updates and propagation of change through a Blockchain; the thing is designed to be difficult to change!

I'm a confirmed reader of The Register, which tends to keep your feet firmly on the ground when looking at new IT technologies. It's by-line is "Biting the hand that feeds IT".
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Don't worry, I'm paid to be as sceptical as the next vulture when it comes to new techs. The blockchain bit is irrelevant; what is relevant is that shipping is being dragged, in some cases kicking and screaming, into the 20th century and may one day enter the 21st.
Initiatives such as the one announced by SSA/ICS today show the direction of travel. The days of the old man having to hand over a few pounds of paperwork on every port call should (hopefully, one day) be numbered. When that happens, there's a chance it may trickle down to yotties, c.f. ECDIS > chartplotters.
 
Poignard said:
I have never had any trouble with officials in France (or the UK). I put it down to having a classic yacht.

But I will order an EU courtesy flag for next year; if only to annoy any Brexit gammons I have the misfortune to encounter. Fortunately they seem to be rare beasts in Southern Brittany.
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I have one, along with a Brittany flag too...
 
Lightwave395 said:
I have one, along with a Brittany flag too...
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Obviously the magic ring of stars has limited powers, though I have received encouraging comments from Dutch, Belgian and French boats when flying it.
Could you enlighten us on how Ports du Morbihan found out about the outcome of the Douane's inspection?
 
Quiddle said:
Obviously the magic ring of stars has limited powers, though I have received encouraging comments from Dutch, Belgian and French boats when flying it.
Could you enlighten us on how Ports du Morbihan found out about the outcome of the Douane's inspection?
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At this point I don't know how they found out, I can't for one moment think it was a coincedence...

I'm off down to the boat Saturday so maybe I can find out
 
mjcoon said:
Would they not have an obligation to prevent fraud? (Devil's advocacy!)

Mike.
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Perhaps, but I would have thought there would be a process for this, not just blabbing their findings to anyone passing by.

To LW395, you did well to get new Passeport Escale cards. When I started my contract this year after I had updated my details on the PE website my card was sent to my old address . When I asked for a replacement the Capitainerie helpfully said "l'ordinateur dit non', or words to that effect.
 
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Lightwave395 said:
Could be, but now I know that the IRC LOA doesn't actually mean LOA I put my hands up... perhaps in fairness the IRC certificate should then actually say "HLOA" (hull length overall) and not "LOA" !
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To be fair, I noticed when googling that at least one broker advertised a smaller figure and others the larger.

Nice looking boat anyway!

Personally I think waterline length ought to be the chargeable measure...

Ours would then be a 24 footer.
 
AntarcticPilot said:
Sounds like someone chasing the latest buzzword! "Blockchain" is the latest snake oil in the IT world - beyond its origins in Bitcoins, I don't think there's a single verified use of it that demonstrates advantages over more conventional technology. There are enormous problems in updates and propagation of change through a Blockchain; the thing is designed to be difficult to change!
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There are theoretical applications for non currency blockchain where there are mutually untrusting peers, like bank reconciliation. A ship registry seems pretty much the opposite of this. The primary proven application of blockchain is to facilitate the movement of cash from an area of high cash density (the client) to an area of lower cash density (the vendor).
 
In the merchant shipping world, Maersk seem desperate to be seen to do something with blockchain. They come out with a new scheme to revolutionise the way we all do business every few months. The rest of us just ignore them.

A ship’s papers are just ‘certificates’ to say that something is recorded somewhere else. The actual Registration isn’t the Certificate of Registry; it’s the entry in the Register Book. The evidence of title is the book itself and a Transcript of the Register Book can be used to evidence title. The Class Certificates are the same. The insurance documents likewise.

So the whole lot can be put on a server in the public domain. No need for blockchain..
 
Kukri said:
So the whole lot can be put on a server in the public domain. No need for blockchain..
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Yes the internet already does this, reasonable proof of origin is provided by the address with https. Failing that you can simply sign a digital version of the documents, pdf already supports this if they wanted to be fancy and digital.

Someone at Maesrk probably has a nice position lined up at the technology consultancy.
 
Kukri said:
In the merchant shipping world, Maersk seem desperate to be seen to do something with blockchain. They come out with a new scheme to revolutionise the way we all do business every few months. The rest of us just ignore them.

A ship’s papers are just ‘certificates’ to say that something is recorded somewhere else. The actual Registration isn’t the Certificate of Registry; it’s the entry in the Register Book. The evidence of title is the book itself and a Transcript of the Register Book can be used to evidence title. The Class Certificates are the same. The insurance documents likewise.

So the whole lot can be put on a server in the public domain. No need for blockchain..
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ryanroberts said:
Yes the internet already does this, reasonable proof of origin is provided by the address with https. Failing that you can simply sign a digital version of the documents, pdf already supports this if they wanted to be fancy and digital.

Someone at Maesrk probably has a nice position lined up at the technology consultancy.
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Yes but....
Who owns the server that it resides on? What “ insurance” is there against hacking or fraud etc. The company I work for has used blockchain to overcome these concerns of the parties involved in legal, trading and registration ( eg land). As an earlier poster said, it is unbelievably difficult to change, because the record is distributed, and most definitely complies with the legal phrase “ best endeavours” which means far more than we think. New records can be added easily through, with agreement of parties, so change of ownership can be facilitated, or even amendments such as redesign of a building in a title deed.
 
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Thread drift, but Blockchain does have it's uses where you need a tamper-proof ledger that is distributed across a large number of endpoints.
Examples could include licensing, registration, transaction logging, etc.
 
Lightwave395 said:
Whilst in Crouesty recently the Douane decided to swoop through the marina and arrived at my boat asking to see my paperwork. I produced my proof of ownership, home port and insurance details plus a copy of my SSR registration. "Mais Monsieur, nous devons voir l'original, une copie est inacceptable" came the stern reply followed by " pourquoi la copie d'enregistrement SSR dit 11,99 mètres et l'assurance dit 12,04 mètres ?" which to my chagrin I'd never noticed.
I kept a copy of the SSR certificate onboard as my new original version was no longer encapsulated so I though it was best kept at home. Two things followed, I was fined 150 euros
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Can you post a photo of the paperwork for the 150EUR fine? (Feel free to redact your name/address and anything you don't want public obvs.)
 
Mark-1 said:
Can you post a photo of the paperwork for the 150EUR fine? (Feel free to redact your name/address and anything you don't want public obvs.)
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Can do that when I get back from the boat next week - the Douane told me to keep it onboard until I get the original SSR cert to the boat.

On separate note for Brittany based sailors I got this today re Brexit - posted in full in the Brexit section:

Preparations for Brexit in Brittany

CA Biscay Section takes the initiative

In preparation for the UK leaving the European Union, the Cruising Association's Biscay Section has been liaising with the main company operating marinas on the coast of South Brittany - La Compagnie des Ports du Morbihan (LCPM).

Judith Grimwade, Section Secretary of the CA's Biscay Section, has been working with Soizic Dubois, a representative of LCPM. LCPM has agreed the content of a letter that the marinas within the network of LCPM will issue to berth holders confirming that their boat was indeed in EU waters before and on Brexit day so that their VAT (TVA in France) status can be confirmed.

In addition, in recognition that many UK residents spend more than 90 days in any 180 in France, the LCPM has also agreed that owners with annual contracts within the group may also use their marina address should they wish to apply for French Residency (Carte de Sejour). This will permit stays of more than 90 days in any 180 days in France. There are other requirements that have to be fulfilled for a successful application.

Drafts of both documents have been made available to the CA for the use by other marinas in the EU, should local laws permit similar arrangements.

theca.org.uk
 
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