Title: Empowering maritime professionals: A vision for safety, wellbeing, and operational excellence

Bingbing Song, Head of Maritime Training and Human Element Section at the Maritime Safety Division (MSD) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), will deliver the keynote on integrating human elements into maritime operations. As Secretary of the HTW Sub-Committee, he oversees training, competence, and fatigue, contributing to the safety of maritime workers. Since joining IMO in 2013, he has been pivotal in implementing Goal-Based Ship Construction Standards (GBS) and updating key maritime conventions.

The presentation will be followed by a 10-minute Q&A session, offering the audience a chance to engage and discuss key topics directly.

Chair: Dave Watkins | CHIRP Maritime

• Apo Belokas | SAFETY4SEA
  Illusions vs. Insights from Safety Performance to Human Capital ROI.
• Esma Uflaz | Istanbul Technical University (ITU)
  Human Factors Analysis in Maritime Loss of Control Accidents: Lessons from the Context of Containership Dali.
• Hollie Black | University of Strathclyde
  Automating Human Factors Analysis in Maritime Safety: A Machine Learning Approach.
• Dhwani Oakley | University of Southampton
  Designing for maritime safety: our past, present and future. 

Chair: Levent Sen | Orka Informatics

• Jevon Chan | Newcastle University / ABS
  The effects of training regime on the fault recognition skills of the Officer of the Watch.
• Muhittin Orhan | Istanbul Technical University (ITU) –
  Reducing Human-Related Risks in Maritime Safety: A Focus on ISO 23678 Life-Saving Appliances Training.
• Furkan Tornaci | University of Strathclyde
  Navigating Knowledge: Analysing the Impact of Demographics on the Learning Styles of Seafarers.
• Reza Ziarati | C4FF
  Developing a Training Programme for ISM Code Implementation with Special References to Human Factors.

Chair: Ozcan Arslan | Istanbul Technical University (ITU)

• Hyungju Kim | NTNU
  Tailoring Human Error Quantification for Maritime Safety: A Case Study on Small Fishing Vessels.
• Ross Millar | Steamship Mutual
  The Incomplete Puzzle.
• Shiqi Fan | Wuhan University of Technology
  Letting lessons be lessons: human-centred risk analysis in human-machine cooperation for maritime transport.
• Ana Luisa Ferreira | Deep Blue
  Lessons learnt from HEART methodology application in a Human Reliability Assessment of a maritime context maintenance task.
• Yasin Burak Kurt | University of Strathclyde
  Strengthening Cyber Resilience and Navigational Safety

Title: Crew Allyship – Safe at Sea 

Deborah Layde, Chief Executive of The Seafarers’ Charity, will deliver a keynote titled “Crew Allyship – Safe at Sea.” Deborah leads The Seafarers’ Charity, which raises funds to support seafarers’ welfare and safety globally. Under her leadership, nearly £30m has been invested into the maritime welfare sector. Deborah also serves as Chair of Maritime UK’s Women in Maritime Network and is passionate about advancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) within the maritime community.

The presentation will be followed by a 10-minute Q&A session to engage with the audience.

Chair: Andre Burgess | National Physical Laboratory – NPL

• Mark Sujan / Kate Preston | University of York
  Human-centred autonomy in maritime contexts.
• Tae Eun Kim | University of Tromsø (UiT)
  Human factors in the era of remotely controlled and autonomous shipping.
• Aitana Sánchez-González | University of Oviedo
  The evolution from Industry 4.0 to Society 5.0: Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships and their challenges.
• Ilkka Kervinen | Finnish Safety Investigation Authority
  Navigating the Challenges of Automation: Impacts on Crew Size and Situational Awareness in Small Vessel Operations.

Chair: Cap. Trevor Bailey | The Nautical Institute

• Levent Sen | Orka Informatics
  Transformative Maritime Training: Digital Approaches for Deeper Learning and Real-World Application.
• Catherine Logie | Ocean Technologies Group
  Navigating the skills gap: learning technologies to support a ‘people first’ strategy
• Katerina Kokkini | KMK Marine Consultants
  The Role of E-Learning Platforms in Maritime Education and Training: Expanding Accessibility and Enhancing Competency.
• Valentinos Steliou | Mintra
  Enabling Seafarers for the Energy Transition.
• Syed Asif Altaf Chowdhury | ITF
  Introduction of wellbeing and early stress management module in maritime curriculum to prepare cadets and future seafarers for challenging and demanding seafaring career.

Chair: Nidhi Trimble | UK Maritime Coastguard Agency

• Sean Noonan | Faire Innovare Ltd.
  The next evolution of safety management: putting the seafarer first.
• Alvin Forster | Solis Marine Consultants
  Introducing human factors concepts to the shipping company and the seafarer.
• Petar Modev / Stuart Edmonston | UK P&I Club
  Enhancing Maritime Safety Culture: A P&I Club’s Perspective.
• Abhijith Balakrishnan | Scorpio Marine Management
  A Tale of Two Safeties.
• Cap. Aly Elsayed | The Nautical Institute
  How embedding best practices is more effective than learning from incidents and accidents (Ocean Project).

The closing panel will summarise key takeaways from the conference sessions, highlight the future steps for industry collaboration, and discuss strategic initiatives moving forward. This is an opportunity for speakers and attendees to engage in final reflections and set the agenda for future maritime safety and human factors efforts.