12th ShipIT Conference: Shipping Moves from Digital Transformation into the AI Era

Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, data, energy efficiency and the new AMMITEC AI Working Group at the centre of this year’s conference

The 12th ShipIT Conference was successfully held on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, at the Eugenides Foundation, jointly organised by AMMITEC and BOUSSIAS Events.

Bringing together senior maritime executives, institutional representatives, CIOs, CTOs, academics and technology specialists, the conference delivered a clear message: digitalisation in shipping is no longer simply a technology choice, but a core driver of operational resilience and competitiveness.

Discussions focused on Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity and cyber resilience, data utilisation, connectivity, energy efficiency and decarbonisation, with growing emphasis not only on adopting new technologies, but on turning them into measurable operational value.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Matthew Maheras, President of AMMITEC, highlighted the need for technology adoption to remain closely linked to business value, security and governance.

“The objective is not to adopt more technology. It is to adopt the right technology, with security, proper governance and clear operational value.”

He also pointed to the rapid shift of Artificial Intelligence from experimentation into day-to-day maritime operations.

“AI is already moving from experimentation into real operations. The next challenge is to make that transition with structure, governance and human oversight.”

Against this background, AMMITEC announced the launch of its new AI Working Group, which will focus on practical AI adoption in shipping, use cases, governance and shadow AI, as well as the development of benchmarks, training and practical guidance for the maritime community.

Speakers included Spyridon Papageorgiou, Secretary General for the Protection of Critical Entities; Vassilios Demetriades, former Shipping Deputy Minister of the Republic of Cyprus; Professor Christos Xenakis; Professor Stefanos Kollias, Chairman oφ GRNET; George Xiradakis, President of the Association of Banking and Financial Executives of Hellenic Shipping; and senior representatives from leading shipping and technology organisations.

Across keynotes, panels and lightning rounds, the conference highlighted a common direction for the industry: the next phase of maritime digitalisation will be defined not by who has the most technology, but by who can use it securely, intelligently and with tangible operational impact.

AMMITEC – Association of Maritime Managers in Information Technology and Communications