2nd People Tech Maritime Bergen
Oct 22, 2026, Scandic Bergen City Hotel

Developing maritime competency in LLMs

Improving vessel performance data quality and use

improving shipboard software quality and communications

Developments with cybersecurity

Read our report from last year's event

Gold sponsor

Coffee sponsor

Silver sponsors

Lunch sponsor

Promotional sponsor

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS AND DISCUSSION MODERATORS

Alena Pedersen, VP Corporate IT, Odfjell

Martin Hjelle, Founder VoyCalc, former CDO at Western Bulk
Carlos Gonzalez, Research and Technology Manager, INTERTANKO
Lars Vaagen Solbakken, Managing Partner at Vaag & Venner, Advisor to Globetech BoD

Gunnar Prytz, Chief Technology Officer, Miros

Antorweep Chakravorty, Ph.D., Professor, University of Stavanger

John Velo, Lead Penetration Tester / Security Analyst, NORMA Cyber

Steven Vandewalle, Information Security Manager, G2 Ocean, Gearbulk & Grieg Maritime Group

Peter Lee, Vessel Technical Efficiency Manager, Oldendorff

Kjartan Nesse, Co-founder & CEO, Sensa

Owain Brennan, Principle Product Manager, Sedna

Shaun Reardon, Head of Section, Industrial Systems Cyber Security, DNV Cyber

Kay Dausendschön, Head of product and business development, Wärtsilä

SOME OF THE TOPICS IN OUR AGENDA:

DEVELOPING MARITIME LLM COMPETENCY

Agentic systems in maritime to connect fragmented data
Agentic systems - multiple systems working in co-ordination to a goal
How to use large language models in chartering, both pre-fix and in fixing
What IT managers and other professionals should know about LLMs

IMPROVING VESSEL PERFORMANCE DATA QUALITY AND USE

Challenges with integrating vessel performance data
Reporting burden of submitting similar data into different platforms
How accurate wave / speed through water data can help improve vessel performance and decision making
Are there easier ways shipping companies can get robust data about ship performance, without over-burdening the crew?

IMPROVING SHIPBOARD SOFTWARE QUALITY AND COMMUNICATIONS

What factors would help get better quality software installed on on ships?
Can we move to an era where vessels access cloud software / LLMs?
Is there a future with vessels using 'virtual machines' managed remotely?

BETTER WAYS TO MAINTAIN CYBERSECURITY

Using IT penetration testing
Common findings from OT Security Assessments
How AI has reduced the "time to exploit" window
Collaboration between IT and business to maintain business continuity
Why cyber insurance is essential
Using automated cybersecurity tools?

AGENDA OUTLINE

08:00 Registration and welcome coffee

Developing maritime LLM competency

09:00 Opening from Karl Jeffery, Managing Editor at People Technology Maritime

09:10 Using agentic systems in maritime to connect fragmented data

Antorweep Chakravorty, Ph.D., Professor, University of Stavanger

How agentic systems work, with multiple systems working in co-ordination towards a goal
How that can help tackle Maritime's data challenge of fragmented, non-standardised data, and how to get there
Practical, hype free picture of how the agentic AI landscape stands today

09:30 How to use large language models in chartering

Martin Hjelle, Founder at VoyCalc, former CDO at Western Bulk

How LLMs can help charterers in vessel pre-fix stage
How LLMs can help charterers fix better, by making it easier to apply data to reduce mistakes
What a chartering manager's conversation with Claude might look like - and what the job of a charterer might look like in a future
Experiences working at Western Bulk
How LLMs can enable better use of data and better process automation

09:50 Panel - developing maritime LLM competency:

Is there a gap between what LLMs are able to achieve from shipping and what we are currently doing with them - and if so how do we cross it?
What should shipping company IT managers and other maritime professionals know about LLMs, to achieve competency levels of awareness, tool selection, integration and leadership?
What is working so far with maritime LLMs? - where might the industry ultimately get to in its use of LLMs?

Chair

Alena Pedersen

VP Corporate IT

Odfjell

Panellists

Martin Hjelle

Founder at VoyCalc, former CDO at Western Bulk

Antorweep Chakravorty Ph.D., Professor

University of Stavanger

Kjartan Nesse Co-founder & CEO

Sensa

Owain Brennan

Principle Product Manager

Sedna

10:30 Coffee break sponsored by

Improving vessel performance data quality and use

11:00 Challenges with integrating vessel performance data

Carlos Gonzalez, Research and Technology Manager, INTERTANKO

Lack of data standardisation, data silos, and limited interoperability
Reporting burden of submitting similar data into different platforms
INTERTANKO's work to achieve standardised data exchange with GHG benchmarking tool and more

11:20 How accurate weather data can help improve vessel performance

Gunnar Prytz, Chief Technology Officer, Miros

How performance assessments can be improved with accurate wave and speed through water data
Using improved performance assessments to make better decisions about maintenance, coatings, energy saving devices
Manage performance based contracts with greater confidence

11:40 Panel - improving vessel performance data quality and use

Are there easier ways shipping companies can get robust data about ship performance, which can be used as a basis for decision making, without over-burdening the crew?
Data collection techniques, sensor data triangulation techniques, data analytics techniques - what are the bottlenecks
Improving crew engagement through providing better data about their vessel's performance
Stories about how improved vessel performance data gathering led to improved results

Chair

Gunnar Prytz

Chief Technology Officer

Miros

Panellists

Peter Lee

Vessel Technical Efficiency Manager,

Oldendorff

Kay Dausendschön

Head of product and

business development

Wärtsilä

Carlos Gonzalez

Research and Technology

Manager

INTERTANKO

12:30 Lunch

Sponsored by

Improving shipboard software quality and communications

14:00 Improving shipboard software quality and communications

Lars Vaagen Solbakken, Managing Partner at Vaag & Venner, Advisor to Globetech BOD

What factors would help get better quality software installed on shipboard computers?
Can we move to an era where vessels access cloud software, including LLMs?
Can we improve satellite connectivity robustness to make this more possible?
Is there a possible future with vessels using 'virtual machines' all managed remotely?

Better ways to maintain cybersecurity

14:20 Findings and experience sharing from vessel penetration testing by NORMA Cyber

John Velo, Lead Penetration Tester / Security Analyst, NORMA Cyber

How we do IT Pentest and OT Security Assessment
Experiences and lessons learned from Pentesting IT Infrastructures
Common findings from OT Security Assessments

14:40 Managing the increasing cyber incident exposure

Steven Vandewalle, Information Security Manager, G2 Ocean, Gearbulk & Grieg Maritime Group

How AI has reduced the "time to exploit" window
Collaboration between IT and business to maintain business continuity
Allocating resources to areas of highest cyber risk
Why cyber insurance is essential

Chair

15:00 Panel - better ways to maintain cybersecurity

How is the cybersecurity risk to shipping evolving?
Are there better ways to identify and manage risks?
Should more use be made of automated cybersecurity tools?

Panellists

Shaun Reardon

Head of Section, Industrial Systems Cyber Security

DNV Cyber

John Velo

Lead Penetration Tester / Security Analyst

NORMA Cyber

Steven Vandewalle Information Security Manager

G2 Ocean, Gearbulk & Grieg Maritime Group

15:40 Close

OUR 2025 People Tech Maritime Bergen event

Shipping company people attending our November 2025 Bergen event included Bergen Tankers, HSEQ & Vetting Manager; BW LNG, Application Manager; Exmar Shipping, Business Process Manager; Fjord1, Energy and Environmental Manager; Foundation Sailship Statsraad Lehmkuhl, Captain; G2 Ocean, Manager Infrastructure and Support Fleet, Vice President IT, Maritime Systems Manager; Gearbulk Norway AS, Business Analyst; Grieg Star, Project Manager Digital, VP Digital, Principal Engineer; Hansa Tankers, Digital Project Manager, Performance Analyst, Havforskningsinstiuttet, Marine Superintendent, Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Skipsrederi , IT Manager, Mercy Ships, Corporate Relations Officer, Navigator Gas, Head of IT, Norwegian Maritime Authority, Head of New Maritime Technology, Odfjell, VP Corporate IT, Manager Digital Applications, Application Support Consultant, Manager Electro & Automation, Enterprise Architect, OSM Thome, Senior IT Manager, IT Manager, PeakCSL Group, Project Manager Digitalization, Rederiet Stenersen AS, IT & Application Manager, Saga Welco AS, Director Fleet Management & Strategic Planning, SVP Operations; Sea-Cargo, Digital Manager, Software Developer; Seatank Chartering, ICT & Cyber security. Chief Data Officer; Skarv Shipping, Head of Digital and Performance; Spar Shipping AS, S&P and Projects; Stolt Tankers, Product Owner; Utkilen AS, Quality & Sustainability Manager, IT Operations Manager; Utkilen Management, Chief Digitalization Officer; Wilson Management AS, IT Manager