In this article, CirclesOfLife partner Nayab Ali shares insights from Econship 2026 in Chios, where researchers and industry representatives explored the future of competitive, sustainable and resilient maritime supply chains.
“Last Month, I had the opportunity to attend ECONSHIP 2026 – the 3rd European Conference on Shipping, Intermodalism & Ports, held in Chios, Greece, from 23–25 September 2026.
It was a great opportunity to connect with researchers working across maritime economics, shipping, ports, sustainability, regulation, and supply chains, and to exchange ideas on some of the major challenges shaping the future of the maritime sector. The conference was organised by the Department of Shipping, Trade and Transport of the University of the Aegean and the Department of Maritime Studies of the University of Piraeus, as a regional conference of the International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME) and part of the European Maritime Days. This year’s theme was “Navigating to the Maritime Future: Competitive, Sustainable, and Resilient Maritime Supply Chains.”
It brought together over 200 researchers from 90 universities and organisations in 25 countries, with 126 research papers presented across 30 parallel sessions. There were also 5 special plenary sessions focused on the dialogue between academia and the shipping industry discussing regulatory reforms, green shipping and ports, digitalisation, supply chain resilience, and the future of maritime education.
During the conference, I presented our paper “Sustainable Ship Recycling and End-of-Life Vessel Management in the Maritime Industry.” The research looks at the challenges surrounding ship recycling and end-of-life vessel management, with a focus on sustainability, regulatory considerations, and the broader transition towards a more responsible and circular maritime industry. I am very grateful to my co-author Prof. Alessio Tei for his support and collaboration, and to LAB ME4F and the CirclesOfLife project for the research environment and support that made this work possible.
ECONSHIP 2026 was not only about presenting research, but also about learning from others, having meaningful discussions, and building new connections within the maritime research community. A valuable experience, and certainly a conference that gave me new ideas and motivation for the next steps of this research. This research has been carried out within the framework of the CirclesOfLife project and contributes to the project’s objective of supporting more sustainable and circular practices in the maritime sector. It was an important milestone and a valuable opportunity to represent the University of Genoa, the ME4F Lab, and the CirclesOfLife Project on an international stage.”
