20 January - 22 January
Radisson Collection Hotel, Waterfront, Cape Town
The 17th edition of this renowned event will feature eminent industry and government speakers representing bunker buyers and suppliers, ports, refiners, regulators, and maritime professionals, all addressing the unique issues and opportunities shaping Africa’s marine fuels industry.
MWAF26 Programme
If you believe you could make a positive contribution to the conference or training programmes, please email Llewellyn Bankes-Hughes at [email protected] to start the discussion.
Programme details are updated regularly and are subject to change as new speakers are confirmed and themes developed.
Standard Delegate Rate: £795 – Register Here
This session will look at fuel quality and developments in the fuel supply chain, including value chain optimisation and digitalisation in shipping. It will also look at decarbonisation initiatives in Africa, including developments in hydrogen and ammonia, as well as the creation of green corridors.
Moderator: Alexander Prokopakis, Executive Director, IBIA
Fuel Quality Issues from Global and African Perspectives
Jeroen de Vos, Global Head of Operations, Peninsula
Breaking the eFuel Bottleneck: A Blueprint for Maritime Decarbonisation in Africa
Matthías Ólafsson, Executive Consultant, eFuel Alliance
Decarbonising Shipping: Biofuel Integration and Compliance in a Digital Era
Trine Braathen, Director, Environmental Trading, Blue Energy Partners
From Supply Chain to Transition Chain: Lessons from Asia on Digitalising and Decarbonising Maritime Fuels
Chandni Jaga, Senior Ventures Associate – Maritime & Sustainable Cities, Plug and Play Tech Centre
Commercial implications of emissions regulations – from complexity to clarity
Martin Crawford-Brunt, CEO, Lookout Maritime
The Role of the Shipbroker
Nils Ovesen, CEO, Quantum Markets Ltd
Panel Discussion / Q&A
Executive Director
IBIA
Alexander is the Executive Director of IBIA. Under the direction of IBIA’s Chair and Board he is leading the Secretariat, heading all the activities of the organization and he is responsible for the overall management of the Association.
Alexander was the founder, CEO and the architect of probunkers. Prior to founding probunkers, he served Mamidakis Brothers Group as a senior executive, leading all of the Group’s Shipping, Bunkering and Aviation activities, through its respective companies: JetOil, JetTank and STYGA Compania Naviera.
Mr. Prokopakis has over 25 years of professional experience in leadership positions, over which he has attained deep knowledge and expertise mainly in the industry of shipping and bunkering. He is a Graduate of St. John’s University with an MBA in Executive Management and holds a BSc Degree in Business Management from the State University of New York.
Global Head of Operations
Peninsula
Jeroen De Vos is Global Head of Operations at Peninsula and being based in Gibraltar. He began his career in the maritime industry as a marine engineer where he gained valuable seagoing experience from various companies including the Royal Dutch Navy.
Jeroen joined DNV Petroleum Services in 2000 as a Technical Advisor and wore many hats over the next decade and a half.
In 2015 Jeroen became Global Technical Director at VPS when he moved to Peninsula in 2019 to build and head up the dedicated Quality Department.
In 2023 Jeroen became member of IBIA’s board of directors. He is also an active member in several international working groups including ISO/TC 28/SC 4 ‘Classification and specification of conventional marine fuels and marine drop-in fuels’.
Executive Consultant
eFuel Alliance
Matthías Ólafsson has about a decade of experience in business development and government affairs. Before serving as an Executive Consultant for the eFuel Alliance and von Beust and Coll. Consultancy, Matthías held the role of Chief EU Representative of the global trade association of the methanol industry – The Methanol Institute (MI).
Prior to joining MI, he performed several commercial functions at pioneering eMethanol producer Carbon Recycling International (CRI) leading efforts aimed at expanding sales and marketing capabilities and developing markets for renewable methanol.
Matthías holds degrees in Political Science and Russian Linguistics of the University of Iceland.
Director, Environmental Trading
Blue Energy Partners
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.
As Director of Environmental Trading at Blue Energy Partners, Trine leads the firm’s carbon trading and advisory services. 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.
CEO
Lookout Maritime
Martin has more than 25 years of varied experience across the maritime and shipping industry. He has developed a rather unique blend of regulatory, technical, digital and commercial skills and insights across all major shipping segments.
As CEO of RightShip, he led their digital transformation and software development project to improve reliability, safety and reduce emissions across the supply chains of more than 60 major charterers in wet and dry.
As emissions lead and council member of The Baltic Exchange, he has built environmental metrics, calculators and heatmaps. These assist commercial decision makers in understanding the impact and cost of emissions in ocean freight.
Martin is an expert at simplifying complex regulation and is often consulted on emission reduction, safety improvement and benchmarking projects.
Contact: www.lookoutmaritime.com or www.linkedin.com/in/mc-b
This session will consider key factors that will have a strong influence over the future direction of shipping and bunkering in Africa, including education and training.
Moderator: Samantha Montes, Director, Maritime Oracle
Keeping it Clean: The Role of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network
Brendon Hawley, Consultant, ex Maritime Anti-Corruption Network
Maritime Cybersecurity – Enhancing Maritime Cyber Resilience
Matthew Van Maasdyk, Associate, Clyde & Co
Maritime Technology and Opportunities for Africa
Ann Pletschke, Director, Trinity Maritime
Investment, Skills and Jobs in the Superyacht Sector
Vanessa Davidson, Founding Director, Blue Cape
Future-proofing Commercial Shipping Workforce: Strategic Talent Management
Krishnan Subramaniam, International Chairman of the ICS
Panel Discussion / Q&A
Director
Maritime Oracle
Samantha Montes, widely known as the Maritime Oracle, is a seafarer from Cape Town with experience across all seven continents and nearly three decades in the maritime sector. A qualified Navigation Officer and maritime education and training professional, she is the Chairperson of the International Association of Safety and Survival Training (IASST) and Director of Maritime Oracle Consultancy.
She serves on several professional association boards in South Africa and is a credentialed coach, leading a mentoring programme that supports maritime bursary recipients and emerging professionals. Samantha is recognised for her ability to ask the hard questions that challenge the status quo, earning her a reputation as a maritime disruptor with a clear, solutions-driven mindset.
Known for her blend of hands-on seafaring experience and deep expertise in safety, survival training, and regulatory compliance, she brings both credibility and clarity to complex industry conversations.
A passionate advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, Samantha champions safer, more accessible pathways for underrepresented, neurodiverse, and LGBTQ+ seafarers. Her work connects global safety standards with innovative training, mentorship, and human-centred development – and her signature blue hair is a reminder that leadership in maritime can be both authentic and boldly future-facing.
Consultant
ex Maritime Anti-Corruption Network
Captain Brendon Owen Hawley, born in Durban on 4 July 1953 whilst his parents were on vacation from East Africa. He spent his formative years in numerous schools around Kenya, Uganda, and Tanganyika (now Tanzania) where his father was in the British Police Force on transfers. At the age of 8 years old he was sent to South Africa in order to get a stable education as a boarder at St Charles College in Pietermaritzburg.
On completion of high school, Brendon followed in the footsteps of his grandfather Captain Owen Williams who was very influential in his career choice, and joined his first ship MV Adventurer of T&J Harrison Lines sailing out of Durban Harbour on the 14th December 1971 for Liverpool.
Brendon’s maritime career both at sea and ashore has spanned more than 52 years of which 18 years as a seafarer rising through the ranks from cadet to Master serving on various types of ships trading world-wide, such as General Cargo, Oil Tankers, Bulk Carriers and Container and ultimately qualifying and certified as Master Mariner (Class 1 Foreign Going – Unlimited). His sea service was under the flags of prominent companies namely, T&J Harrison Lines (United Kingdom), Safmarine Corporation and Unicorn Lines (South Africa), a brief stint on Durban Harbour Tugs then into marine surveying.
Transitioning ashore, Captain Hawley went on to serve in senior leadership roles with two Norwegian maritime Ship Owners, namely Gearbulk Shipping (Bergen) and Wilhelmsen Group (Oslo).
His global assignments over the next 27 year period included long-term postings based in Stamford – US, Montreal – Quebec, London – UK, Jakarta – Indonesia, Vancouver – British Columbia, Shanghai – China and Singapore. Whilst based in these various countries he travelled to the ports in most of North and South America, Europe and in the Asia Pacific countries.
Medium to short term project-based assignments included Sudan, Myanmar, Philippines, Nigeria, Brazil, Chile and Solomon Islands.
Brendon has built up extensive experience in international maritime operations, which has incorporated working alongside Port Authorities, Governments, major mining and trading corporations implementing the full shipping logistics from mine site to onboard vessel in both Philippines and Solomon Islands. The ability to integrate quickly and effectively into any environment, seamlessly working with different cultures, is born-out by his extensive portfolio of global postings.
His areas of expertise ashore encompass vessel productivity, shore-side logistics, maritime infrastructure and project development, marine surveying, both port and terminal productivity development particularly in Australia, Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, and Solomon Islands.
This has resulted in Brendon working alongside major ship owners, charterers and major corporations across most sectors of the maritime industry in the vessel vetting, port operations, compliance and safety. Extensive mentoring and leading geographically diverse teams as well as executive collaboration, communication and reporting to executive committees, and governance forums.
He has demonstrated an unrelenting focus on Safety in the maritime industry, and in addition is an international industry speaker at various Maritime International Conferences.
Captain Hawley was a pivotal figure in the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN), serving on the Committee from 2014 to 2016 and then as a member of the Main Board from 2017 to 2024. During his tenure, MACN grew from 20 to over 250 global member corporate shipping companies, representing more than 60% of the world’s commercial fleet.
He has recently been awarded “Chartered Master Mariner” status by The Honourable Company of Master Mariners and the Nautical Institute of London. This award is gold-standard and the pinnacle of his maritime career.
Brendon has been admitted into the “Freedom of the City of London” by the Lord Mayor of London.
He has been awarded Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers – London.
More recently he has taken the position as Chairman of The Nautical Institute (Southern Africa).
Inducted into the Shipping Hall of Fame at the recent South African Shipping Gala held at the Durban ICC on the 28th November 2025.
Captain Hawley returned to South Africa in 2021 and currently divides his time between Durban and Struisbaai.
Director
Trinity Maritime
Ann Pletschke is the Director of Trinity Maritime, a maritime consultancy firm based in both South Africa and the United Kingdom. She is a Master Mariner specialising in autonomous vessels, offshore vessel inspections, tutoring and general maritime consultancy services.
Ann is currently completing research into the potential opportunities for marine autonomy to improve diversity and accessibility in the maritime industry for women and people with disabilities or medical conditions. As well as inspecting offshore vessels in the Middle East and Africa, Ann also periodically returns to seagoing trips as a crewmember, most recently as Captain of a seabed drilling vessel.
In addition to over 20 years in the maritime industry, Ann has been a volunteer for three years for Safer Waves, a Gender-Based Violence charity aimed at supporting any seafarer globally who has encountered harassment, discrimination or sexual assault onboard merchant vessels.
Founding Director
Blue Cape
Vanessa Davidson is a leading figure in South Africa’s maritime sector with over two decades of experience in marine manufacturing and skills development.
After gaining international experience on luxury yachts in the Caribbean, Seychelles, and Mallorca, she became founding CEO of the Marine Industry Association of South Africa (MIASA) and Executive Head of SABBEX, promoting South African boatbuilding globally. In 2019, Davidson became the first woman elected Chairperson of the International Marine Certification Institute since 1993.
Passionate about the blue economy, she’s a founding director of BlueCape, focusing on marine manufacturing and the superyacht industry. Her leadership emphasizes innovation, sustainability, and inclusive growth in South Africa’s maritime sector.
International Chairman
Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS)
Krishnan is a distinguished expert in supply chain management, logistics, commercial shipping, and industry education, with nearly four decades of experience.
He currently serves as Chief Learning Officer at Transworld Academy of Excellence. In his leadership roles, he is the International Vice Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) and spearheads the ICS’s global digitalization initiative. Additionally, he is a key member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) UAE’s Steering Committee for the Customs & Trade Facilitation Commission.
Throughout his career, Krishnan has held significant positions at Bharat Petroleum Corporation in India, Shell Petroleum in Dubai and Singapore, Aurora Tankers/IMC Group in Singapore, Fusion Group in Dubai and India, and Petrochem Middle East in Dubai. As a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (FICS), he is also an active trainer with the ICS as well as other professional bodies.
Krishnan’s contributions extend into academia, where he serves as an Academic Advisor at various maritime institutions and as an adjunct faculty member at S.P. Jain School of Global Management, Dubai, UPES India and Gujarat Maritime University, sharing his deep knowledge of shipping and logistics with the next generation of industry professionals.
Join a unique and relaxing post-conference boat tour through the quays and terminals of Cape Town’s historic harbour for a close-up view of the port’s facilities and the many ships, workboats and other vessels visiting or working in Cape Town. To secure your place on the tour please email [email protected].
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