October’s Discover Maritime Innovations conference, hosted by the Maritime Emissions Reduction Council (MERC) in Sydney, was an excellent gathering of businesses and professionals focused on maritime industry decarbonisation.
Our own chief scientist Roger Proctor was a presenter alongside many other innovative businesses. From electrification and robotics to data-driven optimisation, the breadth of ideas and efforts to innovate for emissions reduction was inspiring.
We particularly enjoyed the panel on ports and supporting services, which examined the challenges of reducing emissions in port operations with Svitzer Australia.
Stand-out talks for us:
Michael Eaglen from EV Maritime shared a compelling global outlook on ferry electrification. This stat stood out: 75% of Auckland Transport’s ferry services burn more fuel than the car journeys they displace. Some ferry services have 2.5x the emissions of cars, and 5x those of diesel busses for the same passenger trips.
Tom Loefler at Hullbot demonstrated how autonomous robotic hull cleaning can significantly improve fuel consumption and emissions by reducing biofouling. It can also lead to reducing the frequency for repainting the hulls with antifoul.
Zac Pullen from Greenroom Robotics showed us how a 12-metre electric autonomous survey vessel is able to replace a 55-metre crewed vessel, resulting in an 80% saving in fuel and emissions.
Roger had the opportunity to present on voyage optimisation — a collaboration between Tidetech and DeepSea Technologies. By combining high-resolution environmental data with maritime-specific AI, we’re helping ship operators make smarter decisions about speed and route, reducing fuel use and emissions across both long-haul and coastal voyages.
It’s clear that innovation is not just happening, it’s accelerating — and the key is to create collaborative hubs like MERC to bring innovators together. The future of maritime sustainability will grow with partnerships like these, where data, technology and operational insight come together to deliver measurable impact.
Thanks again to MERC and all the speakers for an inspiring day. Let’s keep the momentum going.
