MASRWG Conference 2026
Maritime Autonomous Ship Systems (MASS)
The Journey Continues
21st and 22nd January 2026
DRAFT PROGRAMME
Day 1 – Wednesday 21st January | |||
0850 - 0900 | Welcome | James Fanshawe | Chairman, UK MASRWG |
0900 - 0930 | Opening Keynote | Luke Pollard MP (TBC) | Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry in the UK Government |
0930 – 1000 | IMO Update | Katrina Kemp | MCA |
1000 – 1030 | Enabling the UK maritime autonomy sector | George Clearly | National Shipbuilding Office / SMI Council |
1030 – 1100 | The growing programme emerging as a result of the recent Security and Defence Review | Andy Liddell | 1* DE&S |
1100 – 1130 | Panel Session | Andy Lidell George Clearly Katrina Kemp | Moderated by James Fanshawe. Chairman UK MASRWG |
1130 – 1145 | Coffee | ||
1145 – 1215 | Commercial Opportunities for MASS | Antoon Van Coillie | Zulu Associates |
1215 - 1300 | Lunch | ||
1300 - 1330 | Artificial Intelligence | Tom Rooney / Oliver Thompson | Marine AI |
1330 - 1400 | AI-NAVIGATOR & SAILOR: Advancing Maritime AI for Situational Awareness and Collision Avoidance | Dr Roberto Galaezzi | DTU Denmark |
1400 – 1445 | Panel Discussion | Tom Rooney Antoon Van Coillie Dr Roberto Galaezzi | Moderated by James Fanshawe. |
1445 - 1500 | Closing Remarks | James Fanshawe |
|
1500 – 1600 | Sponsor and Networking Session | ||
Day 2 – Thursday 22nd January | |||
0850 – 0900 | Introductory Remarks | ||
0900 – 0930 | Keynote Speaker | Andy McKeran | Lloyd’s Register |
0930 – 1000 | Input on assurance frameworks | Andre Burgess | NPL |
1000 – 1030 | Autonomy in the Air Environment | Neil Hunter | Head of Global Sales, Schiebel |
1030 -1100 | TBC | Dr Caitlin Bentley | Kings College London |
1100 – 1130 | Panel Session | Andre Burgess Paul Burton Dr Caitlin Bentley | Moderated by James Fanshawe |
1130 - 1145 | Coffee | ||
1145 – 1215 | MASS Legal Considerations | Robert Veal | Winter Law |
1215 – 1245 | Providing an update on the US market | Sean Pribyl | Senior Counsel. Holland & Knight LLP, Washington, DC |
1245 – 1330 | Lunch | ||
1330 – 1400 | Hydrographic Data to support autonomous operations | Paul Burton | UKHO |
1400 – 1430 | AI-Enabled Cross-Skilling - Building Resilient Maritime Lean Crewing Operations | Gordon Meadow | CEO SeaBot Maritime |
1430 – 1500 | Project SeaGuard | Capt. Zakirul Bhuiyan | Southampton Solent University |
1500 - 1545 | Panel discussion | Robert Veal Sean Pribyl James Bell Gordon Meadow Zakirul Bhuiyan | Moderated by James Fanshawe |
1545 – 1630 | Sponsor and Networking Session | ||
1630 | Closing Remarks by James Fanshawe | ||
Registration Details
Register for the 11th Maritime Autonomous Systems Regulatory Working Group Conference here.
Virtual Conference Details
The conference will be produced and managed by UKI Media & Events, the team behind Autonomous Ship Technology Expo, utilising the Swapcard platform.
Swapcard is a leading event engagement platform for virtual events. The platform is scalable to allow for events of any size without delegate number limits. The advanced networking capabilities within the platform allow for greater delegate engagement while built-in AI helps connect delegates with the most relevant people at the event.
Further information is available here. UKI Media & Events use a secondary platform called StreamYard to produce and run live panels and use experienced TV directors to mix live panels to give a better viewing experience for the audience.
| Date | 21 - 22nd January |
| Venue | Online |
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