The beginnings of SEADEVCON go back all the way to 2009 when we launched its predecessor AISSUMMIT, a straight-forward tech conference.
Back then, Carsten Bullemer – the founder of maritime-industry related software companies such as vesseltracker.com, maritimedatasystems.com, trusteddocks.com, searoutes.com and navisense.de – invited worldwide leaders of AIS technology to come together in Hamburg and exchange thoughts on this innovative tool.
Relaunched as SEADEVCON in 2018, it has now developed into an industry conference bringing together experts from the maritime business, representatives from shipping companies, researchers and academics, developers of hard- and software technologies, NGOs, and environmental activists to present attempts at technical solutions, to discuss the future of the sector, and to look at the ports of tomorrow, with a special focus on reducing industry-caused emissions. We are committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
A non-profit event, SEADEVCON seeks collaborations with credible industry partners and corporate sponsors to make the conference happen and grow.
As past participants will confirm, SEADEVCON places an emphasis on striking a productive balance between work and play, offering opportunities both to engage professionally and enjoy each others’ company socially during the conference.
In 2019, we introduced the SEADEVCON Maritime Award, a prize to recognize annually a personality whose “lifetime achievement is exemplary for the fight for a sustainable and respectful use of the world’s seas”. The first winner of the award was the author and expedition leader Arved Fuchs, introduced by the ocean yachtsman Boris Herrmann.
Normally a two-day event, including a start-up night to kick the conference off, the 2020 edition has been adapted to the present Covid-19 crisis. As a SEADEVCON Special ‘20, our maritime industry will take place in a format that fully respects all safety protocols while still providing a much needed forum for addressing on-going issues around the impact of commercial shipping on climate change. Carsten Bullemer explains: “Just cancelling was never an option for us. In the current difficult situation, we cannot lose sight of the very real threat from Co2 emissions. Once economic activities worldwide fully resume, this unsolved problem must again be front and center of everybody’s attention, and our event wants to make a contribution.”
In this vein, SEADEVCON Special ‘20 includes the presentation of the SEADEVCON Maritime Award 2020.
If you are interested in taking part in our event, or in supporting the ideals behind the conference, please get in touch. And: Any good ideas are always welcome!