IMO Seminar on implications, challenges and opportunities of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) for ports and public authorities

The Seminar was an opportunity to understand the future impact of MASS on ports and may assist ports in preparing their plans and preparations before MASS operate in ports in the coming years. The event took place on Thursday, 11 April 2024 at IMO Headquarters, London.

Programme and presentations

Please find the programme and the presentations below:

Panel 1: MASS and technology developers' perspective

Three short presentations of different aspects of autonomous ships in port: From the ship perspective; from the cargo handling and mooring perspective; and from the remote operations perspective. The presentations will be followed by questions from the moderator and audience on what impacts the technology providers expect MASS will have on port operations.

Moderator: Mr. Ørnulf Jan Rødseth, ISO TC8

Ms. Alina Colling – ABB Norway, Product Manager Pilot Family – the building blocks for Autonomous Ships: ABB's Stepwise Approach to Autonomy by Viewing a Ship as a System of Systems
Mr. Janne Suominen – MacGregor, Finland Manager, Offering Development: Automated onboard cargo handling and mooring - Benefits for shortsea shipping
Ms. Kristine Prøsch - Massterly, Norway, Chief Product Officer (CPO): Greener, safer and smarter logistics - with autonomous shipping

Panel 2: Ports' perspective

Moderator: Patrick Verhoeven, Managing Director, IAPH

Mr. Erwin Verstraelen - Chief Digital and Innovation Officer Port of Antwerp-Bruges & Mr. Robert-Louis Cool-CEO of SEAFAR: Port of Antwerp Bruges Port of the future - innovation in action
Ms. Shiori Kondo – Deputy Director, Ports and Harbours Bureau, Japan: Ports and Harbour Bureau Japan - Challenges of Japanese Ports

Video and photo gallery

View a recording of the event on our Youtube channel.

Browse photos of the seminar here.