iShipping Copenhagen 2017 was developed by Digital Ship to take a bird’s eye view of the technical and digital developments and drivers we have seen emerging over the last few years.
Across two days of keynote presentations, March 1 through 2, plenary sessions, panel discussions and round tables, industry leaders came together to discuss how these changes in innovation and digitization are transforming the maritime industry. More than 230 attendees gathered to participate in discussions, roundtable sessions, workshops and various interactive networking events, including a Gala Dinner hosted by global sponsor Marlink.
BIMCO’s Peter Sand opened the conference by looking at the macroeconomic drivers for the shipping industry – and looking at the bumpy road ahead of us – but also reminding all that there is plenty to be positive about. Troels Blicher Danielsen, Deputy Director General at the Danish Maritime Authority asked if digitization was the greatest driver for shipping innovation today, while Niels Bruus, Head of Future Solutions at Maersk Line, used the conference to showcase how digital is changing the way Maersk operate their assets.
Other key highlights included throwing the spotlight on the cyber impact on shipping, where the consensus was that leadership buy-in was key to combating the threat. There was also a keen focus on how blockchain is enabling seamless integration of financial, physical and information flows in the supply chain, and discussion around how the shipping industry may explore applicability – and much more besides.
“The Danish Maritime Authority thoroughly believe that the use and exchange of data carries enormous potentials for shipping in terms of growth, safety and environment. The two days provided us with new valuable insights on digitalization and offered us an opportunity to learn from experts by sharing and discussing ideas about how digitalization can benefit the maritime sector as a whole."—Troels Blicher Danielsen, Deputy Director General at the Danish Maritime Authority
Neville Smith, Director, Mariner Communications, chaired the event on Wednesday and had the following to say, "The DigitalShip has always played a key role covering communications and IT. By focusing on the future of shipping, it was able to cover new ground and widen the debate. While it's still going to be a bumpy ride to the future, based on this event, it's going to be fun too."
Anwar Ahmed Siddiqui, Advisor to the CEO, Bahri The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia, presented on the topic “Sailing the Big Data Era” and he made the following comment following the event: “Engagement with Bahri’s peers at iShipping Copenhagen 2017 on how to go from BigData into deep Insight was a very effective one.
Following the success of Digital Ship iShipping Copenhagen 2017, a number of events concentrating on these and other key topics surrounding technology, digitalisation and business transformation in shipping are planned in other maritime hubs across the globe in 2017 and beyond.
