Future Shipping Trends Presented at 6th Maritime Conference in Athens

The new reality of unmanned ships was among the future trends in shipping that were presented to over 270 executives from 130 shipping during the 6th Maritime Trends Conference held recently at the Divani Caravel Hotel in Athens.

Marine Tours CEO Konstantinos Oikonomou

Organized by travel services experts Marine Tours and Etihad Airways, the conference aimed to offer insight into the latest issues and challenges in the field and featured prominent academics and professionals who covered a series of industry-related issues in individual presentations or on panels.

One of the panels focused on “Future Shipping Trends” and shed insight on issues concerning new technologies in the industry.

During the panel discussion, the new phenomenon of unmanned ships and the revolution that it brings to the modern management of crews was presented by George Teriakidis, Regional Business Development Manager, DNV GL.

Unmanned ships. Photo source: GE.com

During his presentation titled “Towards unmanned ships”, Teriakidis said that unmanned ships “have come to stay” and their appearance in the industry will constantly grow. He advised shipping companies to prepare for this new reality, which, beyond threats, also gives rise to new opportunities.

The “Future Shipping trends” panel also included a presentation by Panos Moraitis, CEO of Aspida, on how to manage cyber-threats. Moraitis developed the cyber-threats that pose a threat the shipping industry and shared his experiences with delegates, pointing out that protection against such threats is more a matter of corporate culture than investment. “Ninety percent of the issues arise from human negligence and only 10 percent from third-party threats,” he said.

Marine Tours CEO Konstantinos Oikonomou with the conference’s speakers and moderators Panos G. Moraitakis, Dr Evangelos Tsioumas, Dr Maria Progoulaki, Giorgos M. Teriakidis, Yiannis G. Timagenis and Giorgos Ksiradakis.

The 6th Maritime Trends Conference also explored subjects concerning the changes in the dry bulk and tanker markets; ways of securing financing in a changing maritime environment and the necessary requirements; ways to effectively tap into human resources; management, training and assessment of crews; investing in educational tools for crew members; and risk management issues.

The event came to a close with a raffle. This year’s winner – Costamare Shipping Co SA – won free participation in the SMM Maritime Trade Fair to be held on September 4-7 in Hamburg.

The conference was held with the support of Deree, The American College of Greece and ALBA.

Photos: @Marine Tours SA