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This year’s ship.energy summit is coming to Athens where it will take a reality check on the decarbonisation of shipping and ports.

While the events at the MEPC Extraordinary Session in October 2025 pressed the pause button on the IMO’s Net Zero Framework, the UN agency’s timeline for shipping’s GHG reductions is still in place.

As such, this year’s ship energy summit will ask maritime stakeholders how – or if – momentum on the sector’s energy transition can be maintained. Do national and regional policymakers, technology innovators, shipping companies, ports and new energy providers still have the ambition and drive to meet IMO GHG emissions timelines – or do expectations need to be managed.

For an industry known for its resilience, adaptability and problem-solving, is decarbonisation still an opportunity and priority, and is the much-vaunted collaborative approach to meeting this challenge still holding true.

The discussions at this year’s event will very much focus on what is achievable – both in terms of newbuilds, but perhaps more importantly, in relation to conventionally-fuelled vessels already on the water. It will evaluate the impact of ratcheting European regulations on shipping’s emissions and consider the effectiveness of penalty/incentive approaches to the industry’s transition to new energy sources.

The summit will also examine the potential impact of the European Commission’s recently published Industrial Maritime Strategy. Has the Strategy provided the necessary signals and confidence for maritime industries to keep up the pressure for decarbonisation.

The conference will also consider if the ambition of start-up companies has been compromised by the IMO’s ‘no deal at present’ decision, and if finance providers are still willing to support those companies, across all maritime sectors, who are prepared to take a risk in developing the new energy sources and technologies for shipping and ports.

As always, the ship.energy summit will look at the industry’s progress on decarbonisation with reference to case studies and real projects, and with a strong focus on initiatives in Southern Europe.