The $680 billion commercial ship-financing market could be moving onto blockchain infrastructure as ADI Chain and Shipfinex join forces to develop tokenized vessel investments.
Commercial ships are collectively valued at roughly $2 trillion, but financing for their construction and purchase remains concentrated among banks, shipowners and specialized lenders. Because the industry is largely relationship-driven, smaller operators and alternative investors have limited access to the capital market.
ADI Chain and Dubai-based Shipfinex aim to broaden that access by using blockchain technology to bring maritime financing to a wider group of institutional investors. The companies estimate that bank loans, leasing arrangements and export-credit facilities currently account for around $680 billion of ship financing.
Ramana Kumar, president of the stablecoin ecosystem at ADI Foundation, said maritime finance has the scale and real-world economic activity to develop into a major tokenized asset category.
The partnership reflects the growing reach of real-world asset tokenization. Blockchain projects initially focused heavily on assets such as government bonds and money-market funds, but are increasingly exploring physical infrastructure that requires substantial capital, including commercial vessels.
Shipfinex will be responsible for identifying ships and developing the investment structures. The company will assess potential vessels, determine their valuations and establish the financial terms for each opportunity.
ADI Chain will provide the blockchain layer, turning those investment arrangements into digital tokens and enabling settlement through stablecoins pegged to currencies such as the U.S. dollar and UAE dirham. The companies say this could allow payments to move more efficiently than through traditional bank transfers.
For now, the initiative is designed for qualified institutional participants rather than individual retail investors.
Shipfinex CEO Capt. Vikas Pandey said the partnership aims to establish a regulated digital channel into maritime finance, with each investment instrument connected to a specific ship, its underlying cash flows and its legal structure.
No vessel-backed tokens have been issued under the partnership yet. Shipfinex also lacks a full regulatory authorization to launch the proposed products. Its current “In-Principle Approval” from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority represents an initial regulatory clearance rather than a final license.
Shipfinex has identified roughly 35 vessels valued at about $500 million in total as potential candidates for tokenization once regulatory approval and deal structures are finalized.
The plan calls for each vessel to be placed in a separate legal entity, creating a degree of separation between investments. If one ship experiences financial difficulties, the structure would aim to prevent those problems from directly affecting other vessel investments.
Future tokens could provide different forms of financial exposure depending on how individual transactions are structured. Investors could potentially receive returns from ship-backed lending, participate in vessel-generated shipping revenue or gain exposure to the economic value of a vessel.
The tokens would not represent direct legal ownership of the ships. Instead, they would provide financial claims linked to the underlying assets, while ownership and day-to-day operations would remain under conventional commercial arrangements.
The shipping industry handles more than 80% of global merchandise trade by volume, according to the announcement. Despite its enormous economic importance, maritime assets remain a relatively small segment of the tokenized real-world asset market, which currently stands at around $38 billion.
Other companies are already pursuing blockchain-based shipping finance. Galactica has completed tokenized vessel financing transactions, including bridge financing for a 145,000-cubic-meter LNG carrier through InvestaX’s regulated platform. Ethra Ship launched another maritime RWA initiative in June using an existing shipping operation.
ADI Chain is an Abu Dhabi-based blockchain platform focused on institutional applications. It was founded by Sirius International Holding, the technology subsidiary of International Holding Company. The network already supports DDSC, a UAE Central Bank-licensed dirham-backed stablecoin, and IHC used DDSC earlier this year to process a $30 million transaction on the chain.
