Speakers
Professor Ralph Rayner FIMarEST
Dr Richard Bucknall
Claudene Sharp-Patel CMarTech FIMarEST
All Streams
This opening plenary will dissect the interconnected forces of technology, human factors, and the environment, unveiling the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. It will involve three high-level presentations with a subsequent panel discussion.
Demystifying fuel options and scrutinising the diverse fuel landscape, analysing available technologies, infrastructure capabilities, and long-term viability.
Examining the intricate web of regulations and political landscapes impacting them and the crucial role of stateled support. Determining how the fuels are perceived by the crew and also the public.
Achieving emission targets and Looking at the ripple effects of new fuel productions and evolving emission targets on the maritime industry's wider sustainability footprint and contribution to climate change mitigation.
10-minute presentation from each speaker followed by a 45-minute panel discussion with audience Q&A
Ralph is a Professorial Research Fellow in the Department of Statistics at LSE as well as holding a position with The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He is a fellow of the Institute for Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, the Society for Underwater Technology, the Marine technology Society, the Royal Meteorological Society and the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
Ralph’s academic background is in ocean science and technology. Throughout his career he has worked at the interface between the public and private sectors in meeting the need for monitoring of the ocean environment in support of understanding climate change, the use of ocean resources and the protection of the marine environment. He is a former chair of the IOC/UNESCO Global Ocean Observing System Steering Committee and currently serves on the advisory bodies of a number on leading ocean science research organisations, including Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the Schmidt Ocean Institute. He is Editor in Chief of the Journal of Operational Oceanography and is a founding trustee of the Rising Seas Institute.
Professor Richard Bucknall’s career has been spent in the marine industry and academia. He began his career at BP Shipping and subsequently with Ministry of Defence before joining UCL as a Research Fellow. At UCL he led the Marine Research Group (2008-2014), became Director of Research for Mechanical Engineering (2014-2019), Vice Dean for Research (2019-2023) and Head of Department for Mechanical Engineering (2022-now). His research focus has spanned several areas of maritime engineering science but more recently decarbonisation of the maritime sector. He has graduated 28 PhD students from across the world, has over 250 published articles, and has been awarded the IMAREST Danny Medal twice. He is an honorary member of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors, past editor in chief of the Journal of Marine Engineering and Technology, and is currently a Visiting Professor at three internationally leading universities.
Claudene joined the marine industry over 30 years ago, having wide experience in maritime, shipping, salvage/MCI, upstream oil and Gas, and wind installation/MWS, Terminal operations, assurance and Oil and Gas/renewable industries in various roles and senior management positions. Claudene started her career as a sea-going Marine Engineering with BHP on dry-bulk carriers, ROROs, Container Vessels and Chemical tankers, transferring onto Oil and LNG vessels with Shell UK and primarily with BP Shipping. However, never one to stop during leave periods continued building experience on General cargo vessels and passenger ships. Although holding a Bachelor of Technology (Marine Engineering) and Combined Chief Engineer (Motor and Steam), Claudene continued studying obtaining an MBA in Maritime Law and Logistics Management.
Although Claudene’s background is technical, her training in her shore career in Shipping companies and energy companies support the understanding of shipping, terminal operations/activities and marine activities, has assisted seeing these operations holistically and impactfully. Claudene’s more recent roles as Global Technical Director Lloyd’s Register, and Shell Australia Prelude (Prelude Marine Terminal Coordinator) further adds to her understanding of current Marine and Offshore roles, activities and operations. Claudene’s current role as Global Technical Director for Lloyds Register allows an input in the strategy and technical requirements for the industry both legislated or required through IMO/IACS and supporting customers and the industry find safe technical solutions within Decarbonisation, Digitalisation, Marine safety assurance and Offshore Safety Assurance.
Claudene is a Fellow of IMarEST and served for 6 years as Vice President and culminating as Vice Chair of Technical Leadership Board of IMarEST. Claudene was previously a registered consultant to IMO, and has been continuously active within OCIMF in several groups/working groups including Representative at GPC, Vice Chairman of OCIMF Technical Group, and member of SIRE Focus Group. These experiences bringing a wide understanding of incidents, consequences, legislation, regulations and implementation.
Dr Lucy Gilliam: For over 20 years, Dr Lucy Gilliam has been immersed in environmental science and policy, specializing in science-based policies and impactful campaigns from governmental, research, and NGO perspectives. Her expertise includes international transport, ocean governance, and ecosystem-based management, particularly in the shipping and aviation sectors. She has worked with NGOs like Transport & Environment and Seas at Risk on EU and IMO shipping policies, contributed to decarbonizing maritime activities, and participated in international UN meetings. Currently, Lucy consults on the Clean Fuels for shipping project within the Resilient Delta program at TU Delft and Erasmus University.