ECONSHIP 2026 closed in Chios on 25 September after presenting 126 research papers across 30 parallel plenaries, drawing more than 200 authors from 90 universities and research centres in 25 countries.

What did the three-day programme cover?

The conference, held 23-25 September at the University of the Aegean, was organised jointly by the university's Department of Shipping, Trade and Transport and the Department of Maritime Studies at the University of Piraeus. It ran as a regional conference of the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME) and formed part of the European Maritime Days programme.

Five of the 30 sessions were designated as special plenaries and focused on industry-academia dialogue, joint priority-setting, and the future of maritime research and education. Researchers from Europe, Asia, Australia, North and Latin America, and Africa attended.

What did policymakers bring to the table?

The plenary "The European Debate" on 25 September drew the strongest policymaking presence. Marina Hadjimanolis, Cyprus's Deputy Minister of Shipping, used the platform to outline priorities under Cyprus's Presidency of the Council of the EU. She also announced two scholarships for Cypriot women enrolling on the University of the Aegean's Shipping programme.

European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis added a recorded video address to the debate. Associate Professor Ilias Bissias moderated, while Professor Thanos Pallis, holder of the Jean Monnet Chair in European Port Policy, used his slot to argue for a coordinated European approach to shipping and ports.

Professor Thanos Pallis stressed that achieving meaningful results and strengthening the competitiveness of European shipping require a shared approach and a long-term plan involving all stakeholders, the conference organisers reported.

How did industry questions feed into research priorities?

The plenary "Episteme in the Crosscurrents: Perspectives from Maritime Executives at the Helm" on 23 September staged a real-time industry-academia exchange. Four senior executives set out industry challenges; academic delegates ranked them on the spot.

The session collected and analysed 144 contributions the same day. Captain Stylianos Dimouleas of Almi Tankers S.A., Kostas Petrakis of Chartworld Shipping Corporation, Anastasios Zoupas of EY Greece, and Vasileios G. Petousis of Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. delivered the industry positions.

A second special plenary, "METAVASEA: Promoting a People-centred Transition in East Mediterranean", organised by HELMEPA, brought the green and digital transition debate down to seafarer level. Moderated by Constantinos Triantafyllou, the panel gathered Antri Theodorou (CMMI), Philip Nielsen (ORIANI), Emmanouil Nikolaidis (Premium Consulting), and George Tsavliris (CYMEPA).

Which papers won awards?

Two papers shared the ECONSHIP 2026 Best Paper Award. David Guerrero, Ronan Kerbiriou, and Antoine Frémont of France received the award for "Back to basics: Throughput, vessel capacity deployment and the changing geography of port systems". Despoina Kiltidou and Mary Matsouka of Greece shared the prize for "Investing in maritime training to advance green shipping under the IGF code".

The Emerging Scholar Award went to Daniela Del Gallego and Johann Mauricio Arenas Quimbayo of Colombia for "Dredging governance and port competitiveness: structural asymmetry in multi-actor systems in Colombia". The PortEconomics Award for best port-related research was presented to Mihalis Chasomeris of South Africa for "Economic regulation of port authority pricing in South Africa: a constructive critique of the revenue requirement model".

A separate ceremony honoured Professor Helen Thanopoulou, who retired earlier in 2026, and Professor Seraphim Kapros, Head of the Department of Shipping, Trade and Transport, announced that the University of the Aegean will confer the title of Professor Emerita upon her.

Who backed the event?

Gold sponsors included Chartworld Shipping Corporation, Latsco Marine Management Inc., and the Maria Tsakos Public Benefit Foundation. Attica Group, Almi Tankers, Carras Hellas, Celestyal, Dorian LPG, Hellenic Hull Management, Navios Maritime Holdings, and Seanergy Maritime Holdings contributed as supporting sponsors, alongside EY.

ECONSHIP 2026 ran alongside the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Port Performance Research Network and a PACT Cost Action training seminar on the energy transition in port cities. Professor Maria Lekakou delivered opening remarks on behalf of the organising committee in the "Yiannis Karalis" Auditorium on 22 September, with Professor Pierre Cariou, IAME's 2nd Vice-President, giving the opening keynote.

The fourth edition of ECONSHIP is expected to extend the dialogue on artificial intelligence in maritime research, which dominated the "Future of Maritime Studies" plenary, alongside the people-centred transition agenda introduced by METAVASEA.