IDsure raises €600K to accelerate digital ID infrastructure for maritime sector

IDsure has closed a €600,000 (US$695,427) seed round to expand its digital identity and credentialing infrastructure for the global maritime industry.

The company says the funds will go directly into scaling partnerships with flag states, training institutes and service providers. Writing in an update post, IDsure CEO and founder Jesper Holmgren, who happens to be a former Master Mariner, clarified how the investment relates to their plans.

IDsure wants to overhaul the traditional system still used in maritime compliance, which remains dependent on paper certificates, manual checks and fragmented verification processes. The industry comprises a workforce of two million seafarers and more than 75,000 merchant vessels.

“For too long, maritime has run on paper,” Holmgren says. “A seafarer’s record book gets photocopied dozens of times. Certificates take hours to verify. Both can be forged.”

“We built IDsure to fix all three of those things — by issuing verifiable identity, making certificates tamper-proof, and letting any authorized counterparty check them in seconds. This round lets us scale that infrastructure across the industry that’s been asking for it.”

IDsure’s platform has three core components. The company provides aviation‑grade identity verification, developed with SITA, that allows seafarers to authenticate themselves once using national IDs or passports. Their verified identity can then be accessed via apps operated by flag states or service providers.

The second part is tamper‑proof certificates. All certificates of competency, STCW endorsements, and seafarer record‑book entries issued through IDsure are cryptographically signed and stored on the Concordium blockchain. The company says this makes forgery technically impossible and allows any credential to be independently verified.

Third, instant verification is enabled via a QR scan that reveals the full credential. This removes the need for phone calls, paperwork or waiting for issuing authorities to open. Checks that previously took hours can be completed in seconds by port authorities, ship managers, employers or inspectors.

The platform is already in production. The Bahamas Maritime Authority issues digital seafarer record books and competency certificates across its registry using IDsure, while Columbia Shipmanagement is piloting digital identity for bridge officers. SITA provides the identity layer.

IDsure aims for infrastructural significance

Jesper emphasized that IDsure is positioning itself as infrastructure rather than another maritime app. Flag states and training institutes issue credentials directly into the platform, while service providers such as Ledgid build crew‑facing tools on top of it.

The goal, he said, is a consistent trust layer that works across any application a seafarer or maritime organisation uses. Previously, SITA and IDsure piloted their mobile-stored digital credentials with Columbia Shipmanagement. The initiative was part of SITA’s SmartSea strategy, which brings digital implementations from aviation to the maritime industry.

IDsure’s seed round will fund the expansion of direct relationships with issuers, growing the ecosystem of service providers building on the platform, deepening the verification and certificate‑issuance stack, and strengthening enterprise‑grade capabilities across the product.

IDsure plans further announcements this week, which includes a new partnership, a refreshed brand and details of its presence at Posidonia 2026 in Athens.

Article Topics

digital ID infrastructure  |  funding  |  identity verification  |  IDsure  |  maritime