23 March - 26 March
Clarion Hotel Helsinki, Finland
The inaugural Nordic-Baltic Maritime Forum in Helsinki will be a landmark gathering of maritime leaders, innovators, and policymakers from across the Nordic-Baltic Eight: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden.
Innovation Day
This is a highly focused day of events which will explore shipping and ports’ energy, technology and regulatory landscape and the pathways to sustainability and decarbonisation.
The events are delivered by NBMF Innovation Partners across a range of formats, including roundtable discussions and working groups, specialised seminars and discussion panels – all of which are intended to encourage delegate interaction and foster cross-disciplinary conversations.
Event Registration
Please note that these sessions form part of the Nordic-Baltic Maritime Forum. Registration provides access to the site visits, Innovation Day, headline Conference, and all associated networking events and receptions.
Forum Week Access Pass: £695
Managing Director
ship.energy
Lesley Bankes-Hughes is a highly experienced editor, news journalist and features writer. After a number of years as business editor of Jane’s Defence Weekly, she worked for the International Stock Exchange and Euromoney Publications. She also established a specialist newsletter covering European corporate mergers and acquisitions, and later spent several years at Christ Church, University of Oxford, with responsibility for developing educational outreach projects.
Presented by agriportance
Market Analyst and Product Manager
agriportance GmbH
Based in Münster, Germany, agriportance supports the biomethane market with services spanning GHG calculation, certification, gas shipping, and biomethane brokering.
Ole helps drive the company’s EU-wide expansion, combining market insight with a strong focus on regulation and policy developments.
Speakers
Carmelo Cartalemi, Global Sales General Manager, WinGD
Wojciech Wrobleski, WinGD
Tor Eiken, Managing Director, Eiken Maritime
As the Baltic region accelerates decarbonisation under EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime, shipowners face critical investment decisions amid fuel uncertainty.
This roundtable will explore fuel flexibility as a strategic approach, comparing ammonia, methanol and ethanol from a practical and commercial perspective.
Rather than focusing on theoretical pathways, the discussion will examine:
WinGD will share insights from its multi-fuel engine platform development and discuss how newbuilds ordered today can remain competitive and compliant through 2035 and beyond.
The objective is to provide shipowners, yards, financiers and regulators with a balanced, technology-neutral perspective on alternative fuel strategies and to encourage open dialogue on managing fuel risk while progressing toward net-zero shipping.
Global Sales General Manager
WinGD
Dr Carmelo Cartalemi is the Global Sales General Manager at WinGD. He has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Genoa, an MBA in Management Technology and Economy from ETH Zurich and a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Naples.
He has over 20 years of experience within the marine industry. After working some years for Fincantieri (2002-2008) as lead project engineer and for General Electric (2008-2010) as application engineer, he joined WinGD in 2010 where he has held several leadership positions in R&D, Business Development and Sales.
Currently, he leads WinGD’s Global Sales Network as they work to provide the fuel flexibility and confidence our customers need in choosing the right WinGD solution for their next investment on their decarbonisation journey.
Speakers:
Max Fröhlich, Sales Manager, TGE Marine Gas Engineering GmbH
Esa Jokioinen, Sales and Marketing Director, Deltamarin
Ammonia is emerging as a frontrunner in the race to decarbonise shipping – but its success depends on more than engine technology. The fuel gas system (FGSS) is the critical link between concept and operation and getting it right will determine whether ammonia scales or stalls.
During this session, TGE Marine will be exploring the importance of cooperation and collaboration within the industry to ensure a sustainable future and safe and reliable fleets. This session will be split into two parts, one will be company presentations from TGE Marine, as well as one of their strategic long-term partners, Deltamarin. These organisations have cooperated for many years to ensure a safe, reliable and sustainable fleet. Customers and Partners span the globe from various segments.
This presentation will deliver a strategic and practical perspective on ammonia FGSS integration, highlighting what the industry must address to move from early-stage designs to reliable, safe, and cost-effective solutions.
The second part of the session will focus on some of the most frequently asked questions and discuss the way that organisations can work together without competing. Additionally, audience members are more than welcome to ask questions during this conversation.
Sales Manager
TGE Marine Gas Engineering GmbH
Max Fröhlich is a Sales Manager at TGE Marine Gas Engineering GmbH. Max joined TGE Marine in May 2020. In his current role as Sales Manager, he builds on this strong technical and commercial foundation to drive customer solutions and support global project acquisition.
Holding a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering with a focus on Technical Sales from the European University of Applied Sciences, Max combines profound technical expertise with extensive commercial understanding of complex system architectures. Max also holds a master’s degree in Technical Management with focus on Sales and Innovation Management from the University of Applied Sciences in Cologne.
Sales and Marketing Director
Deltamarin
Esa Jokioinen is a seasoned maritime technology and ship design professional who currently works as Director of Sales and Marketing at Deltamarin.
He started his career in the shipbuilding industry working as a project engineer for Kvaerner Masa-Yards Turku Shipyard in 2002, following the completion of his LNG related master’s thesis. Esa moved to Deltamarin Ltd in 2003 and worked as a project engineer in R&D, mechanical engineering, and concept design departments. He took lead of concept design and R&D departments of the company in 2011.
In 2013, Esa moved to Rolls-Royce Marine where he established and managed R&D unit “Blue Ocean Team” under Engineering and Technology function. The team’s task was to develop technology concepts and open new markets for Rolls-Royce Marine. In 2017, he moved into the role of VP Sales and Marketing for Ship Intelligence business unit. In this role, he was commercially responsible of Rolls Royce Marine’s digital offering. After Kongsberg acquisition of Rolls Royce Marine, he continued in the same role for Kongsberg Maritime until July 2019.
Esa returned to Deltamarin in his current role in August 2019 where his responsibilities include global sales and marketing activities as well as product and service development of the company.
During his career, Esa has gained wide experience with maritime technologies, markets, business and customers within most commercial ship types and marine structures. He has worked with globally leading shipowners, yards and suppliers in different types of projects including newbuilding, conversion, performance improvement, product development, digitalization and autonomy projects.
This closed-door working session will explore how green corridors move from policy ambition to bankable, FID-ready investment structures, using India–EU via the Middle East corridor ammonia and methanol trade flows as a practical case study. The session will examine how regulatory demand in Europe and production momentum in India can be translated into financeable corridor projects and scalable investment frameworks.
Through moderated discussion and structured interaction, participants will explore the critical building blocks of a bankable corridor, including production readiness, port and shipping infrastructure, revenue architecture, risk allocation, certification, and capital stack design, targeting underinvested areas to close the gap. The objective is to stress-test if the corridor proposal is realistic and if so, what it would take to structure green corridors as a repeatable infrastructure asset class capable of mobilising institutional capital.
Moderator: Gianne Middleton, Chief of Staff, MarineFifty
A clean fuels and strategy expert with global experience across hydrogen, green ammonia and methanol. Prior to MarineFifty she led strategy, market intelligence, partnerships and policy strategy across Europe, the Middle East, North America and Asia.
Chief of Staff
MarineFifty
Gianne currently serves as Chief of Staff at MarineFifty, a private equity investment & infrastructure fund dedicated to advancing marine sustainability.
She leads strategy development & external affairs, identifies next-generation technologies and investment opportunities, and aligns with strategic partners, investors & regulatory bodies to allocate capital into scalable pathways.
Her career includes leadership roles in market strategy, financial services, and green energy projects, reflecting a strong commitment to sustainability and innovation.
Ahti Climate explores how international and regional regulations (e.g., FuelEU Maritime, IMO GHG strategy, EU ETS, national initiatives) are driving investment, innovation, and adoption of low-carbon fuels in the Nordic-Baltic maritime region. The discussion will connect regulatory frameworks with real-world decision-making by shipowners, fuel suppliers, ports, and technology providers.
Discussion lead: Risto-Juhani Kariranta, CEO, Ahti Climate
Panellists:
Tuomo Jousala, Fleet and Performance Manager and Shipping Operations Manager, Neste
Mathias Westerholm, Product Manager, Bio-LNG, Rohe Solutions
Deniece Melissa Aiken, Postdoctoral researcher, Maritime Transport Research Group, Estonian Maritime Academy
Which regulatory developments are most impactful right now?
FuelEU Maritime, IMO GHG targets, EU ETS, national incentives.
How are these rules shifting investment toward low-carbon fuels?
Biofuels, e-fuels, methanol, ammonia, hydrogen, LNG transition pathways.
What commercial and operational barriers remain?
Fuel availability, infrastructure, price signals, verification systems.
How do regulations help or hinder collaboration across the value chain?
Between shipowners, fuel producers, ports, financiers, and policy makers.
What role can the Nordic-Baltic region play as a leader?
Early market adoption, pilot projects, regional regulatory alignment.
Chief Executive Officer
Ahti Climate Ab
Ahti Climate provides FuelEU Maritime compliance solutions for vessel operators and fleet managers. We specialise in FuelEU pooling services that enable cost-efficient, transparent, and verifiable compliance with the European Union’s greenhouse gas intensity requirements. Our services combine regulatory expertise, maritime operational insight, and robust reporting workflows built around the FuelEU Maritime database and verification framework.
Fürstenberg Maritime Advisory (FMA) is a micro consultancy from south Sweden driven by a purpose to lead the maritime industry towards future-focused and planet-empathic strategies. Small but with an impressive maritime pedigree, FMA offers bold perspectives and unique insights. Teaming up with the Helsinki-based futures lab Futures Platform for the Innovation Day Session at the inaugural Nordic-Baltic Maritime Forum, FMA will deliver a workshop like no other.
Addressing – and also going beyond – decarbonisation, FMA Partners, Sofia & Conor, are coming to Helsinki with a workshop experience designed to encourage senior level delegates to “think again”. What are the flags, commercial or material, signalling that planetary health has a long-term impact on business? How must enterprise risk be rethought in a world where boundary conditions include ocean biodiversity? What are the opportunities for market differentiation through planetary and human care in a world that is confused as to whether sustainability has any corporate weight?
This workshop will be framed in the Nordic-Baltic context, and the contours of the region’s maritime industry. The blending of holistic sustainability and futures in one event has likely not been seen before in the maritime industry.
Joining FMA for this session is Futures Platform, the Helsinki-based industry standard for strategic foresight. Its team of world-leading futurists maintains a continuous ‘360-degree’ scan of the global landscape, tracking over 1,500 future trends and AI-curated signals.
By integrating their proprietary Trend Radar technology into our workshop, they provide the roadmap and the data-driven framework that allows leadership to identify ‘weak signals’ today before they become the industry shocks of tomorrow.
We invite delegates to join for this thought-provoking session, whether you are involved with Boards, Leadership- and Strategy Development or simply curious about sustainability.
Partner
Fürstenberg Maritime Advisory
Sofia is a Partner at FMA, and with over 20 years in the industry, is recognised for her ability to drive innovation and inclusive sustainability across the maritime value chain.
With an M.Sc. in environmental chemistry, Top Tech Graduate from UC Berkeley, an MBA in Shipping & Logistics from Copenhagen Business School and a passion for the “Blue Economy,” she untangles the complexities of global regulation and environmental ethics.
Her recent work includes serving as Lead Author for the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) “Best Practice Guidebook for Marine Biodiversity & Ocean Health”, leading techno-economic feasibility studies for ammonia transitions (Port of Houston) and developing holistic sustainability roadmaps for major P&I Clubs such as NorthStandard.
Whether she is moderating C-suite roundtables for Maritime SheEO in India or advising from her seat at the IBIA European Board, Sofia is a catalyst for change, ensuring the sustainable maritime energy transition is both ambitious and just.
Partner
Fürstenberg Maritime Advisory (FMA)
Conor brings decades of experience in high-risk maritime and offshore management. As a Master Mariner with an MBA from Henley Business School, he bridges the gap between technical operations and the strategic “boardroom” requirements of the energy transition
Recently he has fulfilled a 3rd party assignment for a strategic partner at the Maersk McKinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping. There he has been immersed in IMO policy development for energy efficiency and certification of alternative fuels. His project history with FMA includes developing high-level port sustainability training for CREMPOL in West Africa, developing holistic sustainability roadmaps for major P&I Clubs such as NorthStandard and advising the ammonia industry on maritime pathways.
Bringing his operational knowledge along, Conor is passionate about searching for narratives that join the business as usual context of today’s maritime leadership with a transformed and responsible industry of the future.
PhD, Director of Futures Research, Founding Partner
Futures Platform
Futurist Dr Tuomo Kuosa is a founding partner of Futures Platform, one of the leading Futures Intelligence companies globally.
Tuomo also works as an Associate Professor (Docent) of Strategic Foresight at the Finnish National Defence University, as a senior consultant at the strategy consulting company Ihme, and has acted as the Director of Futures Platform´s multidisciplinary Futures Research Team since the company’s establishment. He has written dozens of research papers and four books on foresight, including Gower´s “The Evolution of Strategic Foresight”.
His most recent multi-year project has been a macrohistorical analysis of Societal Epoch Change and related World Order Reset. He has worked in Finland Futures Research Center, in the Center of Excellence for National Security (RSIS Think Tank in Singapore), and in consulting agencies. He has, e.g., conducted research and published on “strategic intelligence” together with the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service, and has authored a 100+-page scenario-building manual and education for the Finnish Defence Forces’ Research Agency´s Concepts and Doctrines Division.
Kuosa has a total of 20+ years of experience in strategic foresight, futures intelligence, scenaring planning, and strategy work across various types of organisations around the world.
Speaker: Jovana Djapa, Global Head of Customer Success, ZeroNorth
ZeroNorth explores how automation and agentic AI can enable a shift from manual, fragmented workflows to more connected and data-driven operations in shipping. The session will outline how digital agents can support tasks such as voyage optimisation, fleet performance monitoring, and chartering decisions by integrating data across systems and enabling more proactive, insight-driven decision-making. It will also highlight key considerations for adoption, including data quality, interoperability, governance, and the continued role of human expertise.
Global Head of Customer Success
ZeroNorth
Jovana Djapa is a technology executive at the forefront of maritime digital transformation and the transition to sustainable shipping. As Global Head of Customer Success at ZeroNorth, she guides the strategic deployment of data-driven and AI-powered solutions designed to optimize fleet performance, reduce carbon intensity, and drive commercial outperformance across the global maritime value chain.
Drawing from leadership roles at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Blue Prism, Jovana brings a wealth of experience in “Intelligent Automation” and cloud-scale innovation to the shipping industry. She has a proven track record of guiding global enterprises through high-stakes digital shifts, ensuring that technological adoption translates into both environmental resilience and operational excellence.
Jovana’s commitment to maritime innovation extends to her role as a Cohort Mentor at Narwhale Ventures, where she advises startups building solutions for the Sustainable Blue Economy as part of the NOA acceleration program. She is an Executive Member of Pavilion and a Partner at SEE UP Accelerator, where she scales high-potential ventures and the next generation of Go-To-Market leaders.
Session host: Edgar Gillet, Project Manager, AIVP
The MAGPIE Project (sMArt Green Ports as Integrated Efficient multimodal hubs) is a Horizon Europe project focused on advancing the supply and use of green energy in port ecosystems. Through ten demonstrators and four digital tools, it deals with energy efficiency, alternative fuels, and multimodal transport to support port decarbonisation.
This session will introduce how these components feed into a common European Green Ports Masterplan to be delivered to the EU Commission in September 2026 and contribute to the EU’s 2050 net-zero objective.
Three demonstrators will be highlighted: e-methanol production, shore power peak shaving using offshore wind-charged batteries, and ammonia bunkering, including a safety framework test conducted at the Port of Rotterdam in 2025.
This panel will explore how the Nordic Baltic region can speed up the uptake of innovative maritime technologies and strengthen its position as a frontrunner in clean shipping. Building on VTT’s broad maritime expertise—from advanced propulsion and alternative fuels to hydrodynamics, batteries and fuel cells, digitalisation, and impact modelling—the discussion will examine the enablers that help new technologies transition from research to real world deployment.
The session will highlight how Finland is introducing cleaner maritime technologies through collaboration between government, industry, and research organisations. Panellists will discuss regulatory drivers, innovation ecosystems, and concrete examples of ongoing developments across the maritime value chain. They will also reflect on how industrial policy, public–private partnerships, and international cooperation (including IMO perspectives) shape the path toward decarbonised and competitive maritime operations.
Delivered by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Speakers:
Kenneth Widell, General Manager, Research Coordination & Funding, Wärtsilä Finland
Teemu Manderbacka, Research Team Leader, Maritime, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland
Heikki Rajasalo, Customer Account Lead, Maritime, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland
David Osborn, Director, Marine Environment Division, IMO (International Maritime Organisation)
Eero Hokkanen, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Alternate Permanent Representative of Finland to the IMO, Ministry of Transport and Communications of Finland (LVM)
At this interactive presentation, Omny will bring their perspective on a shared challenge for maritime CISOs and asset owners: How to manage cyber risk across increasingly interconnected IT, OT, and physical systems.
As vessels, ports, and shore operations become more integrated, incidents no longer stay in one domain — they can directly impact safety, uptime, and compliance. Yet decision-makers often lack a unified view of operational and cyber risk.
We’ll invite participants to share their questions, perspectives, and challenges to prioritization in complex environments, and explore how greater collaboration between security and operations can close today’s visibility gap.
By leveraging Omny’s Industrial Security Twin for inspiration, we’ll examine how a continuously updated, shared model of the full technology stack — powered by agentic AI — can enable risk-based decisions grounded in real operational impact and strengthen maritime resilience.
To the session, Omny will bring real case examples from their work within the Maritime sector.
Business Development Director
Omny
Business Development Director at Omny, responsible for driving commercial growth and strategic direction. Unlocking AI in industrial cybersecurity worldwide.
Experienced former McKinsey Engagement Manager deep expertise in the intersection between technology and business, companies and their customers, across physical and digital offerings.
Background in Service Design from Deloitte Digital and holds well-rounded industry experience (Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Consumer, Financial Services, Automotive and mobility, Start-ups, Digital products)
International mindset and experience having lived in Turkey, UAE, Scotland and Norway.
1st class M.A. joint Hons. Economics with International Relations graduate from the University of St Andrews
Cybersecurity Advisory Director
Omny
Experienced security adviser with a history of working in both the public and private sector. Skilled in security management and -culture, risk management, internal control and IT audit, with a strong interest in people and technology.
Holds several certifications, such as CISA, CISM, Dipl.IR and ISO 27005 Risk manager. Graduated from BI Norwegian business school and University of Oslo.
Following Innovation Day, all delegates and speakers are invited to a networking drinks reception. Hosted by the Innovation Partners, this event takes place at the Skyroom Bar at the Clarion Hotel which offers an amazing 360o view of the Helsinki skyline.
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