HudsonAnalytix and Maritime Street team up to advise on secure maritime trade and logistics digitalisation

HudsonAnalytix, Inc., an international business risk solutions company, and Maritime Street, global strategic advisors on digital trade logistics, have formed a strategic partnership to help governments, port authorities, port communities, port community system operators, and other key parties accelerate digitalization of maritime trade processes with maximum safety, security, and reliability. The initiative will support public and private stakeholders to assess, define, implement, and maintain secure digital trade facilitation and port process frameworks that safeguard critical digital and physical infrastructure that is vital to national economies, international trade, and global maritime supply chains.

On June 5, 2020, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) supported the urgent call to action, led by the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) to address nine priorities that will help accelerate the digitalization of maritime trade, logistics, and ports as key actors in global supply chains. These priorities include the need to encourage collaboration between maritime supply chain industry stakeholders and IMO Member States; intergovernmental collaboration at the local, national, and regional levels; and – key to success – managing cyber security risks at the corporate, institutional and community level.

From a policy making and governance perspective, cybersecurity is becoming a top priority for port authorities, port communities, and governments around the world to avoid operational chaos, business disruption, reputational damage and financial loss due to malicious targeting of digitally-enabled systems, processes and equipment that increasingly underpin maritime trade. Cyber issues have become one of the top five risks cited by global business leaders, along with geo-political dynamics, regulatory compliance, and sustainability. According to the World Economic Forum, economic loss due to cybercrime is predicted to reach USD3 trillion in 2020, representing 3.4% of global GDP. The COVID-19 global pandemic has added even greater urgency to the cyber challenge as the maritime supply chain, like other industries, has turned increasingly to digital solutions with much more remote virtual work.

“In the era of digital acceleration, port ecosystems are becoming critical information as well as physical infrastructures. Teaming up with HudsonAnalytix will create a strong value proposition to foster maritime trade and supply chain security and resilience for governments, authorities and industry,” said Pascal Ollivier, president of Maritime Street.

“While ports are critical physical infrastructure, the port community systems that make them more efficient are equally critical digital infrastructure,” said Cynthia Hudson, CEO of HudsonAnalytix.

“We are very pleased to partner with Maritime Street to work with transportation ministries, port authorities, and port communities worldwide to ensure that their port community systems and other digital trade logistics systems protect the valuable data that underlie modern global logistics.”