Forums

SEOUL, REPUBLIC OF KOREA – MAY 30TH 2025

“Maritime Pasts and Presents from a Humanities Perspective“
Place: 14F, Anyang University HK+ Project 311, Anyang-ro, Manan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
Time: 9:00 a.m.

On May 30, 2025, the Seoul Maritime Forum was held at Anyang University in South Korea, hosted with the support of the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation of Korea. The forum offered a rich interdisciplinary dialogue exploring the cultural, historical, and legal dimensions of the maritime world.

The conference delved into the multifaceted role of the sea in shaping human history—from traditional trade networks and transoceanic encounters to the evolving legal frameworks and geopolitical tensions of maritime space. Presentations covered a wide temporal and geographic scope. Central to the forum was the idea that the maritime realm is not merely an economic or logistic domain, but a cultural and symbolic space through which identities, beliefs, and knowledge systems have been transported, contested, and reinvented. The sea was examined as both a historical actor and a contemporary stage where globalization, ecological change, and technological transformation intersect.

The speakers included:

BARCELONA, SPAIN – OCTOBER 5TH 2022

“The Seafarer’s Identity“
Place: Universitat de Barcelona (FdFiC), Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 585, 08007 Barcelona
Time: 2:00 p.m.

At the Barcelona Maritime Forum the multifaceted cultures within the merchant navy were analysed and discussed. It is within this multicultural context that the construction of different cultures occur. If maritime managers are to work successfully with their designated ships, and the seafarers working and living aboard these ships, they need to understand that different cultures exist within the industry. The argument put forward is that maritime management needs the necessary soft skills to develop cultural awareness and become culturally sensitive.

HELSINKI, FINLAND – MARCH 21ST 2022

“Green Shipping. Moving fast towards a smart and sustainable future“
Place: Oodi Helsinki Central Library, Töölönlahdenkatu 4, 00100 Helsinki
Time: 6:00 p.m.

The Helsinki Maritime Forum was organised in collaboration with the Finnish-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce on 21 March 2022. The live event at the Central Library of Helsinki gathered together stakeholders from the government, shipping community and business alike:

Teemu Lehtinen, Secretary General, Finnish-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce.

Eero Hokkanen, Ministerial Adviser, Climate and Environment Unit, Ministry of Transport and Communications.

Päivi Wood, Senior Adviser Transport Policy, Central Chamber of Commerce, Finland.

Spyros Kotzias, Captain Class A (LNG/C Master Mariner)

Markos Diamantides, Purchasing Director, Arkas Hellas SA.

For more details click HERE

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS LECTURE – OCTOBER 8TH 2019

“Crisis, Recovery and Innovation in the Greek Shipping Industry after WWII“
Place: P.C. Hoofthuis – Universiteit van Amsterdam, room 1.14, Spuistraat 134, Amsterdam
Time: 1.00-3.00 p.m.

During WWII, the size of the Greek merchant fleet dropped dramatically. The sailors who had survived the war were left unemployed and many emigrated abroad as the ship-owners were left with only a handful of operational vessels. Consequently, shortly after the end of the war, a request was made to the US Government to grant the use of 100 Liberty-type ships, that were built for the war. These 100 cargo ships were to become the key to the development of a new Greek fleet. Later, in the 1950s, shipbuilding orders on behalf of the Greeks soared and by 1956, during the Suez crisis, Greek ship-owners held almost a third of the world tonnage. Shipping firms that were once based in London and New York were gradually been relocated to Piraeus by the Greeks. The Greek State assisted their efforts by passing laws on the ship’s taxation system and the Greek flag was reinstituted on Greek ships, making the Greek economy flourish.
Greek ship-owners were the torchbearers of innovation in shipping and paved the way for the exit from a global commercial crisis.

For more details click HERE

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY – MAY 17TH 2019

“Shipping & Logistics in Northern Europe“

On May 17th 2019 the Düsseldorf Maritime Forum “Shipping & Logistics in Northern Europe” was held by the European Institute of Law, Science & Technology, St.Thomas Polytechnic, University of Patras LLP Shipping Studies and the Institute of International Nautical Studies.

The economic importance of Düsseldorf is directly linked to its significant port activity on the Rhine River, that is accessible to ocean-going vessels, and its being an outlet for the agricultural products and ores of the Wuppertal valley of Germany. The Düsseldorf Maritime Forum discussed issues that included Logistics and Shipping, Geopolitics, Energy Issues and the EastMed Gas Pipeline, Maritime Education and the modern trends in postgraduate specializations.

THESSALONIKI, GREECE – FEBRUARY 4TH 2019

“Shipping and Global Challenges“
Place: Central Municipal Library, Thessaloniki, Greece
Time: 5:30 p.m.

Following a joint initiative of St. Thomas Polytechnic and the Merchant Marine Academy of Macedonia, the Maritime Forum “Shipping & Global Challenges” was held in Thessaloniki, a key port of Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean, on February 2nd 2019. The Maritime Forum aimed at creating and reinforcing efforts in the Maritime sector in terms of bringing together institutions and people, promoting Maritime Affairs within society as a think tank, giving prospects for individual and collective development of maritime entrepreneurship and education.