Context Graph and Decision Graph for Shipping & Logistics

In March 2021, a single container ship — Ever Given — blocked the Suez Canal.

For six days, $9.6 billion in global trade was stranded per day. Nearly 12% of world trade froze. Ships backed up on both sides of the canal. Cargo destined for Europe sat idle in the Red Sea. Cargo bound for Asia waited in the Mediterranean.

The most important decisions were made in the first few hours:

• Which vessels reroute around Africa?

• Which cargo gets transshipped?

• Which containers receive priority when the canal reopens?

• Who had authority to decide — and under what constraints?

Months later, most companies could not explain their decisions with evidence.

“In global logistics, the cost of a bad decision isn’t the delay — it’s the inability to explain why that decision was made.”

Supply chain disruptions don’t stay local. They cascade across continents in hours. And when they do, companies that can clearly explain their decisions recover more quickly. Companies that can’t — litigate. This is where Context OS becomes foundational.

The Cost of Decision Failures in Global Logistics

Ever Given — Suez Canal Blockage (2021)

• 400+ ships stranded

• $9.6B in trade is blocked daily

• Global schedules collapsed

Decisions were made through:

• Emails

• Calls

• Improvisation

• Fragmented authority

Months of disputes followed.

Context OS diagnosis:
Context Rot + Decision Amnesia + No shared decision substrate.

West Coast Port Congestion (2021)

At peak congestion:

• 100+ ships anchored off Los Angeles and Long Beach

• Weeks-long berth delays

• Holiday inventory missed

• Perishables spoiled

• Inland bottlenecks multiplied

Every actor optimized locally — and the network broke globally.

Maersk — NotPetya Cyberattack (2017)

• 76 terminals offline

• No visibility into containers

• Paper-based operations

• $300M direct losses

When systems failed,  decision-making collapsed with them. There was no prioritization. No coordination. No decision record.

Why do supply chain disputes last so long?
Because traditional systems track outcomes, not decision rationale or authority.

The Pattern: Decisions Cascade Faster Than Coordination

Disruptions are inevitable. Coordinated decisions determine recovery.

The Four Failure Modes in Logistics AI

Without a shared decision substrate, logistics AI fails predictably:

• Context Rot – Decisions based on stale port or network data

• Context Pollution – Thousands of alerts, no signal priority

• Context Confusion – Normal congestion treated as a crisis (or vice versa)

• Decision Amnesia – Past disruptions are not reusable as precedent

Every major supply chain crisis exhibits these failures.

How does Context OS improve logistics resilience?
By embedding governance, authority, and decision lineage directly into operational workflows.

Shipping & Logistics Is a Multi-Actor Decision Network

Shipping is not a single-enterprise problem.

It spans:

• Ports & terminals

• Ocean, air, rail, and road carriers

• 3PLs and 4PLs

• Shippers and consignees

• Customs and regulators

Systems of record answer what happened. They do not answer why it happened. And in logistics, “why” determines liability, trust, and resilience.

What Is a Governed Context Graph in Logistics?

A Governed Context Graph represents the shared operational reality across the logistics network — without centralizing control.

It captures:

• Shipment state across modes

• Asset availability (vessels, containers, chassis)

• Network conditions (congestion, capacity)

• Disruption signals with uncertainty

• Contractual commitments and SLAs

• Regulatory and sanctions constraints

• Authority boundaries across organizations

Key principle:
Context is shared. Control remains distributed.

What Is a Decision Graph?

If Context Graph models reality, Decision Graph models judgment. A Decision Graph captures complete Decision Lineage:

• What triggered the decision

• What context was assembled

• Which constraints were evaluated

• Which alternatives were considered — and rejected

• Who had the authority to decide

• What action was taken

• What outcome followed

This is preserved operational reasoning, not logging.

Role-Specific Decision Graphs

Ports & Terminals

Explain berth priority, safety limits, and authority across carriers.

Carriers

Make rerouting decisions transparent to customers and partners.

3PLs

Protect against blame when upstream disruptions cascade downstream. Same shipment. Different decisions. Shared context.

Regulatory, Compliance, and Liability Alignment

Decision Graphs provide evidence by construction for:

• Emissions (IMO, EU ETS)

• Customs classification

• Sanctions screening

• Security frameworks

• Hazmat handling

When regulators ask why, the answer already exists.

Why do supply chain disputes last so long?
Because traditional systems track outcomes, not decision rationale or authority.

Deterministic Enforcement at Network Speed

Governance cannot be post-hoc.

With Context OS:

• Invalid decisions cannot be executed

• Authority violations auto-escalate

• Compliance failures are structurally impossible

Governance is architectural, not advisory.

Progressive Autonomy Across the Network

Autonomy scales only with trust.

Trust benchmarks:

• Decision accuracy

• Lineage completeness

• Partner satisfaction

• Regulatory compliance

If trust degrades, authority contracts automatically.

From Tracking Platforms to Decision Intelligence

Ports move ships.  Carriers move networks. 3PLs move promises. Decision Graph moves accountability.

Final Takeaway

Shipping doesn’t fail when assets stop moving. It fails when decisions cascade across boundaries without shared context or preserved judgment.  Context Graph captures reality. Decision Graph captures reasoning. Together, they form the decision substrate for resilient global logistics.

What is a Context Graph in shipping and logistics?
A Context Graph is a shared, governed representation of real-time operational conditions across ports, carriers, and logistics partners.