NAPA Safety Summit 2024: Navigating ship safety, efficiency and sustainability together
A trusted forum for our customers and maritime leaders to collaborate, innovate and shape the future of maritime safety and efficiency
After the resounding success of 2023’s event in the pristine Finnish Lapland, the NAPA Safety Summit returned in June 2024, this time amidst the breathtaking beauty of Finland’s Saimaa Lake District. The two-day event drew maritime leaders from around the globe, with 64 participants from 21 companies, along with representatives from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Class Societies, and the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications, coming together to shape the future of maritime safety and efficiency.
🎥 How did it all turn out? Watch the video above to see the highlights from NAPA Safety Summit 2024!
The 2024 Theme: Navigating New Tides of Ship Safety, Efficiency, and Sustainability Together
This year’s summit was more than just an industry gathering—it was a vibrant forum for collaboration, innovation, and problem-solving. The theme centred on navigating the evolving tides of ship safety, efficiency, and sustainability, emphasizing practical solutions, technology previews, and forward-looking insights. Thee were 16 immersive expert-led sessions, interactive workshops, and exclusive previews of cutting-edge maritime technologies.
A Trusted Forum for Collaboration and Innovation
The summit offered participants a rare chance to connect and exchange experiences. As Mikko Kuosa, CEO of NAPA, highlighted: “The purpose of NAPA Safety Summit is to create a collaborative forum where we can exchange experiences. We can discuss new ideas, but especially together, find solutions for those challenges that we meet in our daily operations.”
“The cruise ship industry that is largely represented here is sets, you know, a standard that, maybe other industry wish to follow. So, we always need someone to take up the good leadership and then others will follow. And then we have a uniform implementation that we envisage at IMO, as a global regulator,” noted Sascha Pristrom, Head Marine Technology and goal-based standards, IMO.
“I think the biggest takeaway from the Summit is that people are really working together to find solutions for different challenges that we are facing in the maritime sector. So I think we have an interlinked package of challenges and opportunities also,” added Minna Kivimäki, Permanent Secretary at Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finland.
Unmatched Networking and Knowledge Sharing
Participants had the opportunity to exchange success stories, share best practices, and engage in meaningful conversations with peers and industry leaders. This unique setting provided a space where the seeds of future collaborations were sown. As Sifra Westendorp, Digital Lead at Anthony Veder put it:“It’s just very nice to meet like-minded people, share experiences, and exchange what we’ve learned from our journey with those just starting theirs.”
Marco Carjens, Fleet Captain Virgin Voyages, a returning participant, said: “Since it was the second time and people kind of knew what I have been doing so far, they also came to me to ask me questions on how I had resolved certain challenges using NAPA tools.”
“This has been a great experience, motivating, in product developing where I was already working. And now I have even more ideas,” said Salvatore De Luise, Manager Sr, Fleet Operations Center Process and Training, Carnival Cruise Line.
“I believe generally that these kind of meetings in an informal setting, open dialog, honest feedback, and such like is is really important for improving the products and for being able to develop next generation products,” added NAPA Board Member, Tor Svensen.
“People has to have time to focus only to these subjects, like safety and giving their best, sharing their knowledge. And that happens very seldom,” noted Esa Henttinen, EVP Safety Solutions, NAPA.
The maritime industry faces numerous challenges, but with events like the NAPA Safety Summit fostering collaboration, there’s no limit to what can be achieved. As Julia Korpak, Global Fleet QHSSE Manage, Fugro concluded: “There are so many exciting challenges ahead of us. And as an industry, if we collaborate, we can truly achieve a lot.”
Looking Ahead: NAPA Safety Summit 2026
The NAPA Safety Summit continues to be a trusted platform for industry professionals to exchange ideas, co-steer technological innovation, and shape a safer, more sustainable maritime future.
The success of the NAPA Safety Summit 2024 has set the stage for the next event, which will take place in 2026. We look forward to welcoming you in 2026 for the next chapter of this inspiring journey.
Join Us Next Time!
Stay in the loop for our next event—email us at safetysummit@napa.fi to get all the latest updates!
