Uncharted Waters

Welcome and opening remarks

This year’s Summit Partners, CMB.TECH and Port of Antwerp-Bruges, will showcase innovative maritime technologies outside the reception venue from 16:00.

The Annual Summit takes place at a pivotal moment for global trade. The maritime sector is grappling with the far-reaching implications of a shifting geopolitical landscape and macroeconomic uncertainty, while also addressing urgent industry challenges—from attracting and retaining talent to managing risk, confronting the rise of the dark fleet, and advancing the sector’s decarbonisation goals.

Working in groups, participants discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the maritime industry and explore the transformative change needed to unlock its full potential.

Participants choose a working group topic to work on throughout the two-day programme.

Join decision-makers with different perspectives on the maritime industry in reflecting on the defining issues shaping the sector today, from operational disruption and shifting regulatory landscapes to technological transformation and societal pressure for change.

This session will explore what it takes to drive the large-scale, coordinated change required to deliver shipping’s energy transition amid today’s political headwinds. How will the transition change the global economy and trade? And what can the maritime sector learn from other industries already deep in the process of transformation?

Travelling to different locations around Antwerp in small groups, participants draw knowledge and inspiration from both expected and unexpected sources.

Participants share insights and reflections from their Voyage experience, exploring how these relate to their working group topic and broader industry challenges.

In the wake of the Marine Environment Protection Committee’s decision on the International Maritime Organization’s Net-Zero Framework, Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez will discuss the role of industry in the IMO’s decarbonisation strategy, the challenges facing shipping’s workforce, maritime governance, and the role of leadership in times of uncertainty.

Participants come together for an informal dinner aboard the Oceandiva Nova, docked at Jordaenskaai 27. Drinks will be served from 17:30, followed by dinner at 18:30. The ship will remain docked at all times.

The bar at the Oceandiva Nova will stay open for a night cap after the dinner.

What can history teach us about shaping the future? In this hopeful call to long-term thinking, Roman Krznaric invites us to see our place in history, recognise our agency, and draw on the resilience of the past to navigate today’s crises.

Participants reflect on their working group’s progress toward actionable ideas, connecting long-term thinking with how to overcome day-to-day leadership challenges.

An overview of working group topics can be found here.

As global tensions reshape trade, security, and economic alliances, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum explores the shifting geopolitical landscape and what it means for the maritime sector navigating an era of uncertainty

In four parallel sessions, experts and thought leaders will explore emerging challenges and opportunities on the horizon for the maritime industry. Participants will select one deep dive based on their interests.

The four sessions will focus on the following themes:

• Resilience in a fragmenting world

• Scanning the horizon

• Path ahead on decarbonisation

• Rethinking maritime safety

Even though numerous crises and challenges have tested its resilience throughout history, the maritime industry now faces an era of extreme political and economic instability and unpredictability. As geopolitical tensions, trade wars, and opaque operations threaten to destabilise maritime value chains, this deep dive invites participants to assess the current situation and discuss how to build resilience.

Shipping has always been shaped by the tides of global change, but the next decades may bring transformations unlike any before. From shifting geopolitical orders and demographic transitions to the climate crisis and the promise of emerging technologies, powerful forces are reconfiguring trade flows, fleets, and supply chains. This deep dive invites participants to reflect on lessons from the past, surface overlooked trends and explore how these forces may reshape the future of the maritime industry.

A decision on the final adoption of the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework will come just one week before the Annual Summit. Although this framework is still in need of further development, it is expected to bring about profound changes within the industry. In this deep dive, participants will hear about the latest developments at the IMO, and explore the short and long-term effects of the policy measures on vessel investments and operational strategies, as well as bunkering and fuel production requirements.

While there has been some progress in improving the industry’s safety record, some aspects of maritime safety remain stagnant—at great human and operational costs. This deep dive will challenge today’s safety model and invite participants to explore how to make it more practical, effective, and a genuine source of competitive advantage.

Working in groups, participants draw on new insights to refine their work from the previous day and consider what it takes to lead transformative change in turbulent times.

An overview of working group topics can be found here.

Drawing together ideas from across the two days of the Annual Summit, this final plenary discussion will reflect on the insights and outcomes from each working group, and consider how to chart a clear course forward for global seaborne trade.