Maritime Asset Tokens will be issued through a regulated route and made available exclusively on ADI Chain. Neither company has yet issued any tokens publicly.
Over 80% of international trade by volume moves through maritime transport, yet investment remains concentrated among shipowners, banks, and specialist financial institutions.
Petrofin’s Global Ship Finance research valued the commercial fleet at approximately US$2.17 trillion at the end of 2025.
Total global ship finance, by contrast, stood at roughly US$680 billion.
Ownership remains highly fragmented across thousands of small and mid-sized operators with limited access to capital.
Structuring the Assets
Shipfinex will originate and structure eligible maritime assets, while ADI Chain provides the blockchain, distribution, and settlement infrastructure.
An initial pipeline of around 35 vessels worth approximately US$500 million backs the partnership, with the token architecture already designed and now moving through pilot stages.
A special-purpose vehicle will hold each eligible vessel.
The resulting instruments could represent vessel-backed credit, charter-linked income, or economic interests, settled through dirham, dollar, and other stablecoins.
Ramana Kumar
“Maritime finance has the scale, real assets and commercial activity to become a major new real-world asset category,” said Ramana Kumar, President of Stablecoin Ecosystem at ADI Foundation.
Capt. Vikas Pandey, Founder and CEO of Shipfinex, said access to maritime investment remains narrow and fragmented despite ships keeping global trade moving.
Capt. Vikas Pandey
“Combining our maritime origination and asset structuring with ADI Chain’s infrastructure will allow us to create a regulated digital route into this market, with every instrument tied to a real vessel,” he said.
The model retains existing legal frameworks for commercial ships, including ownership, flagging, and insurance, with tokenisation simply providing a digital representation of each vessel’s economic rights.
Still Early Stage
Shipfinex holds In-Principle Approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority for broker-dealer services, not yet a full operating licence. The first phase will focus on finalising the issuance route and preparing vessels for tokenisation.
ADI Chain also underpins DDSC, a UAE dirham-backed stablecoin initiated by International Holding Company and First Abu Dhabi Bank, licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE and live since February.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News UAE based on an image by Shipfinex via its website.
