Busan to Host International Shipbuilding and Marine Conference... to Discuss Decarbonization and AI Autonomous Navigation

[Financial News] Busan Metropolitan City Government said it will hold the 2026 International Shipbuilding and Marine Conference at Wyndham Grand Busan on the morning of the 1st.
Under the theme, "Navigating Uncertainty: Geopolitics, the Decarbonization Transition and the Future of the Shipbuilding Industry," the conference will bring together about 400 participants from eight countries to discuss key issues facing the shipbuilding and shipping industries, as well as future response strategies.
The event is co-hosted by the city government and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and organized by KOMEA.
The conference will consist of a keynote speech and three sessions. It will cover major issues surrounding the shipbuilding and shipping industries, including geopolitical shifts, decarbonization regulations, AI-based autonomous navigation, and ship financing.
Yang Chang-ho, executive vice president of the Korea Shipowners' Association, will deliver the keynote speech on the theme, "Directions for Cooperation and Development in Korea's Shipping and Shipbuilding Industries Amid Geopolitical Changes."
Session 1, themed "Trends and Outlook for Environmental Regulations in Shipping and Shipbuilding," will address IMO mid-term measures, European environmental regulations, carbon-neutral technology transitions in shipping and ports, and the use of small modular reactors (SMRs) in the marine and shipping industries.
Session 2 will focus on "New Market Trends in Shipbuilding and Shipbuilding Equipment." Topics will include hydrogen roadmaps, an AI-based training data platform for autonomous ships, the AI transformation (AX) of the shipbuilding industry, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) pump technology.
Session 3, themed "Competitiveness of the Shipbuilding Industry," will examine shipbuilding competitiveness in major countries, compare ship financing structures in Korea and Japan, review the development of China's ship financing sector, and seek next-generation policy response strategies.
The city expects the conference to help share rapidly changing conditions in the global shipbuilding and shipping industries, along with key issues in technology and finance, while expanding exchanges and cooperation among experts from industry, academia, research institutes and government.
Park Dong-seok, director of the Advanced Industry Bureau, said, "As the shipbuilding and marine industry is changing rapidly amid geopolitical shifts, the decarbonization transition, and AI and autonomous navigation, I hope this conference will be a place to share key issues facing the industry and jointly explore future response strategies."

[email protected] Kwon Byung-seok Reporter