19 January - 21 January
InterContinental Table Bay Cape Town, South Africa
Designed to balance strategic insight with commercial relevance, Maritime Week Africa 2027 will once again provide the premier forum for discussing the future of marine fuels, traditional bunkering and the maritime energy transition across Africa and the Indian Ocean.
Maritime Week Africa 2027 Programme
Programme details are updated regularly and are subject to change as new speakers are confirmed and themes developed.
If you feel you could make a significant contribution to the programme, please email Llewellyn Bankes-Hughes at [email protected] or call +44 1295 814455 to discuss this further.
Bob Wigin, Senior Oil Products Reporter, Argus Media
Capt. Stefan Bülow, Managing Partner, Pelagos Research Shipping
Chris Kruger, President, AYK Energy
Clare Gomes, Corporate Affairs Executive, African Marine Solutions (AMSOL)
Debbie Owen, Senior Project Manager, Lawhill Maritime Educational Trust
Dr Dola Oluteye, Senior Fellow in Energy and Transport Policy, University College London
Douglas Raitt, Advisory Services Sales Director, Lloyd’s Register
Dumisani Xulu, Fuel Industry Association of SA
Gavin Naidoo, Bunker Business Manager, Linsen Nambi Bunker Services
Ngozi Gwam, Business Director and Senior Representative for Africa, Lloyd’s Register
Graham Dreyden, COO, African Marine Solutions (AMSOL)
Jon Hughes, Managing Director, Dan-Bunkering Africa
Jorge Calvillo, Founding Partner, ATH Trading Lda
Martin Crawford-Brunt, CEO, Lookout Maritime
Nancy Ouma Anchie Ndlovu, Supply, Trading & Shipping Operator, BP Southern Africa
Naresh Sewnath, TNPA Acting Harbour Master
Nokuzola Nkowane, Acting Port Manager, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA)
Ophelia Shabane, Port Manager, Port of Cape Town
Simone Smith-Godfrey, Senior Manager: Maritime Research, South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA)
Siya Maya, Managing Director, South African Marine Fuels (SAMF)
Sriram Krishnaraj, Senior Bunker Purchaser, Unicore Fuel Middle East
Stanislas Violet, Trader, Addax Energy
Tahra Sergeant, Regional Manager (Africa), IBIA
Tameeka Fisher, Junior Sales & Trading Manager, FFS Refiners
Trine Braathen, Director Environmental Trading, Verde Marine Energy
Theodora Ashare, Business Development Manager, AI Energy Group
(Premium members: log in to unlock your 5% discount on the standard price to £945)
This session will focus on the availability, supply, and demand for greener fuels, looking at key initiatives in Africa as well as learning lessons and adapting technologies from outside the Continent.
CEO & Founder
ship.energy
Joint CEO, Shipping Innovation | Director, Maritime UK
Llewellyn began his career in the oil industry in 1980, working both as a journalist and as oil broker in London and New York, with Petroleum Argus, Eperon Petroleum, Albion Oil, Petroleum Intelligence Weekly and OPEC Listener, before joining MRC Business Information Group in Oxford – which later became Lloyd’s List Intelligence after MRC’s acquisition by Informa – where he rose to Managing Director before leaving in May 2003 to establish Petrospot Ltd.
He is a Founding Member of the International Bunker Industry Association, which he helped create in 1993 and has organised conferences, seminars, training courses and multiple other events in 35 countries around the world and attended events as a journalist or conference speaker in a further dozen countries.
Llewellyn is co-creator, co-founder and co-owner of the biennial London International Shipping Week, whose first edition took place in September 2013 and has become one of the largest maritime events in the world.
Llewellyn was born in Abergavenny, Wales, in 1957 and lives in Oxfordshire.
Senior Research Fellow in Energy and Transport Policy
UCL Energy Institute
Dola is an engineer and a University College PhD scholar in environmental design and engineering, with over 25 years of experience in both public and private sectors. Throughout her career, she has successfully led sustainability and environmental infrastructure programs totalling over $100 million.
Dola’s passion for climate action has driven her to lead several environmental initiatives, most notably the LEAP Project, where she serves as Principal Investigator in her Senior Researcher role at UCL’s Energy Institute. The project supports African states at the United Nations (UN) International Maritime Organization (IMO) in their efforts to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping.
Her current focus is on Just Transition in Shipping Decarbonisation, ensuring no African country is left behind in the global push for sustainability. Dola is also a proud mother of two budding professionals in robotics engineering and economics, who both share her commitment to environmental sustainability.
Founder & President
AYK Energy
Mr. Kruger is an electrical engineer by training and spent 12 years in the semiconductor industry before deciding to move to batteries. In 2008 he and his team developed the first traction battery for the Fisker Carma series hybrid automobile.
He joined Corvus in 2010 as their director of engineering and developed the first DNV, LR and ABS type approved battery for marine propulsion in the industry. This battery was used in many industry firsts. From there he joined PBES as their CTO in 2015 and developed their high-power battery, the first liquid cooled battery capable of 3C RMS. In 2018 he started AYK with the intention of creating a state of the art, safe yet cost-effective battery, obtaining DNV type approval in 2021.
He and his team in AYK delivered more than 100MWh of marine battery and took the company to positive EBIDA in 2024.
Director of Environmental Trading
Verde Marine
Trine Braathen brings over a decade of experience in carbon and renewable energy markets, supporting companies across the shipping, aviation, and industrial sectors in navigating their path toward sustainability. With deep expertise in both compliance and commercial strategy, she has helped global clients transform complex environmental challenges into measurable progress.
Driven by a genuine passion for sustainability, she represents a new generation of energy leaders committed to making the green transition both achievable and impactful.
This session will feature leaders in the shipping, maritime, bunkering, education and environmental sectors who will give their frank views on the state of the industry, from digitalisation to decarbonisation, in Africa and globally, and take a wide range of questions from the audience.
Moderator:
Martin Crawford-Brunt, CEO, Lookout Maritime
Panellists:
Dr Dola Oluteye, Senior Fellow in Energy and Transport Policy, University College London
Debbie Owen, Senior Project Manager, Lawhill Maritime Educational Trust
Douglas Raitt, Advisory Services Sales Director, Lloyd’s Register
Clare Gomes, Corporate Affairs Executive, African Marine Solutions (AMSOL)
Simone Smith-Godfrey, Senior Manager: Maritime Research, South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA)
CEO
Lookout Maritime
Martin is the CEO of Lookout Maritime, appointed freight emissions and efficiency lead for the Baltic Exchange and a serving member of the Baltic Council.
He has over 25 years of experience, across operational, technical, commercial and leaderships roles. These include working in a port authority and various Class roles with DNV around the world where he built a solid practical and operational foundation.
As CEO of RightShip, he led their digital transformation, which included building new risk and marine assurance software, the “Safety Score” algorithm to replace RightShip Qi, and the DryBMS (the TMSA equivalent for dry bulk risk management).
Lookout Maritime’s mission is to ensure safety and risk management, throughout the ongoing transition towards lower emission fuels and the adoption new technology which boosts efficiency and delivers better business outcomes.
Contact: www.lookoutmaritime.com or www.linkedin.com/in/mc-b
Senior Research Fellow in Energy and Transport Policy
UCL Energy Institute
Dola is an engineer and a University College PhD scholar in environmental design and engineering, with over 25 years of experience in both public and private sectors. Throughout her career, she has successfully led sustainability and environmental infrastructure programs totalling over $100 million.
Dola’s passion for climate action has driven her to lead several environmental initiatives, most notably the LEAP Project, where she serves as Principal Investigator in her Senior Researcher role at UCL’s Energy Institute. The project supports African states at the United Nations (UN) International Maritime Organization (IMO) in their efforts to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping.
Her current focus is on Just Transition in Shipping Decarbonisation, ensuring no African country is left behind in the global push for sustainability. Dola is also a proud mother of two budding professionals in robotics engineering and economics, who both share her commitment to environmental sustainability.
Advisory Services Sales Director
Lloyd’s Register
Douglas has a strong background – spanning over 25 years – in marine fuels and ships’ propulsion machinery. He has managed a variety of laboratories and inspection offices prior to joining Lloyd’s Register in 2005 to lead its Fuel Oil Bunkering Advisory Services’ business through to 2013. Subsequently, he held the post of Regional Advisory Services Manager Asia, till, 2025, dealing with the ever-evolving marine fuels and energy transition challenges and opportunities in the maritime sector.
Douglas currently heads the Lloyd’s Register global advisory sales efforts with a trusted adviser focus on the two key industry themes of decarbonisation and digitalisation.
Senior Manager: Maritime Research
South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA)
Simone Melrino Smith-Godfrey is a maritime economist, Maersk MISE alumna, and Founder of the Centre for Applied Maritime Studies (CAMS). As Senior Manager at SAMSA, she authored the foundational paper “Defining the Blue Economy” (560+ citations).
A recognized Pan-African expert, her prolific portfolio includes 16 books, 1 Modern Maritime Economics textbook, 2 training manuals, 33 academic essays, and 11 research papers. Currently pursuing an LLM in Maritime Law, her work focuses on predictive modelling, value chain leakage, and developing sovereign economic infrastructure for African resources.
