A year can make a big difference. At shipping conferences last year, blockchain was seen as the new kid on the block, and, although often poorly understood, was being touted as the shiny new ­object that would resolve all kinds of issues, from ­cargo brokerage to emissions tracking.

Initial coin offerings were seen as an exciting way to raise capital beyond traditional sources, and pretty much all sectors of the industry saw blockchain as something they needed to adopt, regardless of ­whether it made sense.