The third European conference on maritime transport, multimodal and ports (ECONSHIP 2026) was held from September 23 to 25, 2026, in Chios. This conference was organized by the Department of Transportation, Trade and Shipping of the University of Aegean and the Department of Marine Studies of the University of Piraeus and was part of the European Maritime Days activities.
Conference Opening and Keynote Speeches
The opening ceremony of this conference took place on Tuesday, September 22, in the "Yannis Karalis" hall of the University of Aegean. Professor Maria Lekakou delivered the opening speech on behalf of the organizing committee. Additionally, Ivanis Malafis, the Mayor of Chios; Pantelis A. Bournias, Regional Vice Governor of North Aegean; Professor Niki Glaveli, Vice President of the University of Aegean; Professor Serafim Kapros, Head of the Department of Transportation, Trade and Shipping; and Professor Ivanis Theotokas, Head of the Department of Marine Studies of the University of Piraeus spoke at the event. Local government representatives and officials from Chios were also present at the ceremony.
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Professor Pierre Cariou, Vice President of IAME, delivered the keynote opening speech, followed by a welcome ceremony supported by the public foundation "Maria Tsakos".
Priorities and Challenges of European Maritime Policy
One of the highlights of this conference was the participation of Marina Hadjimanoli, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Republic of Cyprus, in the public session titled "European Discussion". This session took place on Friday, September 25, and was moderated by Professor Ilias Visiakos. Hadjimmanoli addressed the priorities and achievements of the Cypriot presidency in the Council of the European Union and efforts to enhance the registration of Cypriot ships and promote Cyprus as an international transport hub. She also announced two scholarships for Cypriot women wishing to study in the transportation program at the University of Aegean.
Professor Thanos Palis also emphasized the necessity of European policies in the field of transport and ports, highlighting that achieving meaningful results and enhancing the competitiveness of European maritime transport requires a joint approach and a long-term program.
Challenges and Research Opportunities in the Maritime Industry
Another panel titled "Episteme in Cross Currents: Maritime Executive Perspectives" was held on Wednesday, September 23. In this panel, senior maritime executives presented five major challenges facing the industry and discussed how international research can address these challenges. In this session, 144 contributions were collected and analyzed, reflecting the alignment of research priorities with industry needs.
At the end of this conference, awards for the best research papers were granted to the top four papers that highlighted innovation and contribution to scientific research. The best paper award of the ECONSHIP 2026 conference was jointly awarded to two papers: "Returning to Basics: Loading Capacity, Ship Capacity Distribution, and the Changing Geography of Port Systems" and "Investing in Maritime Education for Advancing Green Transport".
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