Professor Turan, the Director of Maritime Human Factor Centre, is a leading expert in shipping safety, has made significant contributions to safety-related rules at various platforms, including the IMO. His work involves investigating maritime accidents and developing solutions to mitigate safety-critical conditions. He has been part of over 20 EU projects, including the FP7 SEAHORSE project, which received the LR-RINA Maritime safety award in 2017, and the EU-funded SAFEMODE project. In 2018, he was awarded the TRA Vision Senior Researcher award by the European Commission.

Dr. Kurt is a Reader in Maritime Human Factors and the Principal Investigator and Maritime Coordinator of the EU-funded SAFEMODE Project, which is the largest human factor project funded by the EU. Currently serving as the Knowledge Exchange Director at the Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean & Marine Engineering (NAOME) at the University of Strathclyde, Dr. Kurt actively promotes the practical use of human factors research in the maritime industry. He has been part of numerous research projects, including EU FP7 SILENV, EU FP7 SEAHORSE and EU FP7 EXCROSS, and has supported regulation development at the IMO. Dr. Kurt has been invited to provide his human factors expertise to key decision makers in various domains, such as EMSA and OCIMF.

Scott MacKinnon, a Professor at Chalmers University of Technology, is a renowned expert in Maritime Human Factors. With over 30 years in academia, he also holds a long-standing professorship at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Scott earned his PhD in Biomedical/Medical Engineering and Human Factors from the University of Cape Town. His multifaceted roles have included lecturing, research, and student supervision.

He has been instrumental in several high-impact research projects funded by the European Commission and other organizations. Notable projects include “AUTOBarge,” focused on autonomous barges for smart inland shipping; “COLREG-LABS,” which explores algorithm-based decision support systems; and “SAFEMODE,” aimed at synergizing aviation and maritime human factors. His work has contributed significantly to making maritime transportation more efficient, safe, and sustainable.

Previously he was a Professor of Maritime Training at the Australian Maritime College (AMC). In 2014 he inaugurated a new maritime college in Angola following a two-year development programme developed in conjunction with the City of Glasgow College and Sonangol Shipping. Prior to this, he held appointments as: Chief Executive Officer of the Vanuatu Maritime College in Santo, Vanuatu; and senior posts at Flagship Training Limited and Warsash Maritime Centre. John is a Master Mariner and served as a Marine Pilot in Namibia from 1994 – 1995. He is a Master of Business Administration, a Freeman of the (UK) Honourable Company of Master Mariners, a Younger Brother of Trinity House and a Chartered Master Mariner.

Since joining The Nautical Institute John has introduced a series of professional development short courses attracting a substantial amount of international interest, a new qualification for engineering and technical staff on DP vessels and has recently started working more closely on key safety issues in the fishing sector.

In September 2023, John was awarded the (UK) Merchant Navy Medal for Meritorious Service for his contribution to maritime training and education, an award presented by HRH The Princess Royal at Trinity House, London.

He travels extensively representing the work of The Nautical Institute and sharing his passion for safer shipping and professionalism in the maritime sector. He is currently Chair of the IMO’s Human Element Industry Group (HEIG) working with NGOs on key safety initiatives.

Associate Professor Nikolaos P. Ventikos of the National Technical University of Athens is a distinguished expert in marine safety, risk engineering, and environmental systems. With over 17 years of academic experience, he has been deeply involved in research and administrative roles, contributing to EC-funded projects like CyClaDes, SAFEPEC, MENTOR, and SAFEMODE.

His research has been groundbreaking, particularly in the SAFEPEC project, which aims to develop an innovative risk-based framework supported by cutting-edge maritime inspection technologies. Another notable project, EU-MOP, focused on the design of autonomous units for mitigating marine oil pollution. The SAFEMODE project aims to strengthen synergies between aviation and maritime sectors in the area of human factors for more efficient and resilient modes of transportation. These projects have had a significant impact on harmonizing audit and inspection protocols and advancing maritime safety and environmental protection.

Through his work at CHIRP, Adam seeks to ensure that everyone working in the maritime industry, especially seafarers are empowered to anonymously report safety concerns. He and the CHIRP team share lessons learned and best practices with the maritime sector and lobby for change to make the industry a safer place to work.

 Adam has been a professional mariner all his adult life, initially spending 26 years as an officer in the Royal Navy and nearly 8 years as a harbourmaster of ports along the UK’s southern coast. He has significant experience managing people, budgets, and driving organisational change in a wide range of multi-disciplinary appointments, both at sea and ashore, in the defence, private industry, and public sectors.

He became the director of CHIRP’s Maritime programme in 2021.

Professor Ozcan Arslan, currently serving as the Dean of the Maritime Faculty at Istanbul Technical University, is a distinguished figure in the field of maritime safety and human factors. Professor Arslan has been instrumental in the SEAHORSE Project, an EU-funded initiative aimed at enhancing shipping safety through technology transfer from air to maritime transport. The project focuses on addressing human factors in an innovative, integrated, and multidisciplinary manner to foster safer and more resilient shipping operations.

In addition to his academic contributions, Professor Arslan has been active in organizing and participating in international conferences and workshops. Notably, he played a key role in the SAFEMODE project, which aimed to strengthen cooperation between the aviation and maritime sectors in the area of human factors.

Will Tutton is Co-Chair of the Institute of Marine Engineering Science and Technology Human Element Working Group and is a recognised expert in maritime human factors as a Chartered Fellow of IMarEST and the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors. He is a member of the Lloyds Register human element rules panel, the Advisory Research Board for the SAFEMODE and the Human Element Industry Group. He regularly instructs on accident investigation and human factors post graduate programmes, particularly at Cranfield University and Loughborough University. Will is an MAIB Inspector and worked in the defence sector for 20 years.

Professor Emre Akyuz, a full professor at Istanbul Technical University, is a leading expert in Maritime Transportation Engineering with a focus on Ocean Engineering, Safety Engineering, and Transportation Engineering. His expertise spans a wide range of topics including ships, safety engineering, accident analysis, human factors, and reliability in transportation. He has contributed significantly to the field through his research, with recent publications exploring risk assessments for anchor dredging in cargo ships, human error probability prediction in cargo sampling processes, and performance analysis of tank coatings in chemical tankers.

Professor Akyuz has been involved in groundbreaking research, including the application of advanced methodologies like the SLIM Evidential Reasoning approach and Fuzzy AHP. His work has been published in esteemed journals such as Ocean Engineering, the Journal of ETA Maritime Science, and the Australian Journal of Maritime & Ocean Affairs. With 90 research items to his name, Professor Akyuz continues to be a pivotal figure in maritime safety and engineering.

Esma Uflaz, who has contributed significantly to the academic landscape, served as a Dr. Research Assistant at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) in Turkey. With a background in maritime safety, maritime simulators, and human factors, Dr. Uflaz has demonstrated a keen interest and expertise in advancing the field. Esma Uflaz actively participated in the SAFEMODE, MariHEALTH and MarED Project as researcher, an initiative funded by the European Union.

Esma Uflaz’s dedication to research and her active participation in international conferences and workshops have further solidified her position as a valuable asset to the academic community. Notably, she played a key role in the SAFEMODE project, which aimed to strengthen cooperation between the aviation and maritime sectors in the area of human factors.