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Under the theme Confidence in complex maritime decisions, BMT is inviting operators, owners, port authorities and shipbuilders to bring their most pressing operational questions to stand G17 and work through them collaboratively. Rather than leading with predefined products.
The programme opens on 9 June with maritime autonomy, centred on what it takes to move beyond concept into safe, uncrewed real-world operations. Conversations will explore how risk is managed across vessels and ports in complex environments, with particular attention to assurance, regulatory compliance and the path from testing through to commercial readiness.
On 10 June, the focus turns to safe, smart and secure ports, reflecting the mounting pressures on operators as traffic grows, risk expectations rise and the transition to new fuels accelerates. BMT will invite visitors to share their own experience of managing safety, capacity and operational complexity, framed around how ports can be understood and run as integrated systems - a question the organisation explores through evidence, from port feasibility studies to the high-fidelity simulation recently brought together at its new Digital Innovation and Simulation Centre near Southampton, helping operators de-risk decisions before they are committed.
The final day, 11 June, explores future-ready vessel design, recognising that many of today’s design decisions must account for uncertain future operating conditions - from alternative fuels to evolving port environments - and the role of evidence in reducing risk before steel is cut.
Throughout the exhibition, visitors are welcome to drop by stand G17 for informal technical discussions – an innovative space to test a specific operational challenge, or simply tease an idea, with BMT’s specialists.
Dr Thomas Beard FIMarEST, Clean Shipping Service Lead and Principal Marine Engineer at BMT, said, “There’s no single fuel that answers every question, and pretending otherwise doesn’t help anyone making a 25-year investment decision today. The more useful conversation is about evidence - understanding a vessel’s real operating profile, the infrastructure it can realistically rely on and how to keep options open as the fuel landscape matures. We’ve spent years working through those trade-offs alongside owners and operators and that practical, evidence-led discussion is exactly what we want to have at Seawork.”
Will Alexander, Campaign Lead for Maritime Autonomous Systems at BMT and a master mariner and hydrographic surveyor, added, “Maritime Autonomy technologies are increasingly proven and capable. The regulatory landscape is maturing and adoption growing. The opportunity is in scaling the technology to deliver broader real-world benefits - improving cost effectiveness, safety and alleviating crewing issues. At BMT we are enabling the shift to maritime autonomy across the capability lifecycle from requirements through design, development, test, assurance and operations. Our mission is to turn technology into credible capability, enabling maritime autonomy and helping decision makers navigate the increasingly complex maritime sector.”
Adam Northover, Senior Account Lead – Ports, Infrastructure and Environment at BMT, said, “Ports are where all of this complexity actually comes together - growing traffic, rising safety and security expectations, and new fuels arriving alongside it all. The temptation is to manage each pressure in isolation, but the more useful question is how the port performs as a single, connected system. Confidence doesn't come from reacting to each issue as it lands; it comes from understanding those interactions well enough to see the consequences of a decision before it's made. The best place to start is always the operator's own port and pressures, not an off-the-shelf blueprint.”
As maritime operations continue to evolve, BMT’s approach at Seawork reflects a simple belief: confidence comes not from ready-made answers, but from understanding the challenge itself. Visitors are encouraged to join across all three days, bring their questions, and engage in the conversations that matter most to their operations.
That instinct - to start by understanding a customer’s challenge, then design capability around it - has run through how BMT works for over four decades. With deep roots in maritime research and a strategy built on collaboration and long-term investment across autonomy, clean maritime and vessel design, the organisation sees Seawork less as a place to present finished answers and more as a chance to think alongside the people facing the questions.
These same questions are, of course, sharpening at a policy level too - as the IMO’s emissions framework and the UK’s own maritime ambitions move from aspiration toward implementation. BMT’s view is that the gap between those goals and the decisions made on the water is best closed one well-understood challenge at a time.
Exhibitor; BMT
