Consultancy EY said on Wednesday it is set to deploy the “world’s first blockchain platform for the marine sector,” in collaboration with data security firm Guardtime, Microsoft and ship operator Maersk .

The blockchain platform is built on Microsoft Azure global cloud technology, and is planned to be implemented from 2018 onward. The platform’s initial phased rollout will involve deploying the benefits of blockchain for end-to-end use across the marine industry, said EY.

The global blockchain platform connects clients, brokers, insurers and third parties to distributed common ledgers that capture data about identities, risk and exposures, and integrates this information with insurance contracts.

The platform’s capabilities include the ability to create and maintain asset data from multiple parties; to link data to policy contracts; to receive and act upon information that results in a pricing or a business process change; to connect client assets, transactions and payments; and to capture and validate up-to-date first notification or loss data, said EY.

“It is a priority for us to leverage technology to streamline and automate our interaction with the insurance market,” said Lars Henneberg, A.P. Møller-Maersk A/S Head of Risk and Insurance. “Insurance transactions are currently far too tedious and frictional. The distance between risk and capital is simply too far. Blockchain technology has the potential to facilitate the desired development that is long overdue.”