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About the event
As part of London International Shipping Week, UKHO hosted an in-person panel discussion with experts from across the maritime industry.
Following this, we hosted a live webinar which is available for you to watch below. This discussion was introduced by UKHO Chief Executive Peter Sparkes, which included a live discussion as well as a look back on some of the key conversations from our panel.
Watch the recording of the live webinar with insights from London International Shipping Week on the latest technological advances and how data can help inform decisions towards achieving decarbonisation targets.
Speakers
Find out more about the speakers who led the discussion.
Name
Peter Sparkes
As Chief Executive, Peter leads the UK Hydrographic Office’s important work in supporting safe, secure and thriving oceans.
Before joining the UKHO, Peter served as a Rear Admiral in the Royal Navy, where he worked in a wide variety of appointments both at sea on operations and ashore. Notably, he commanded the frigate HMS CUMBERLAND on counter-piracy patrol off Somalia and the UK’s Ice Patrol Ship, HMS PROTECTOR, in Antarctica. In addition to this, he commanded the 44 units (aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, mine-hunters, patrol vessels, and the maritime explosive ordinance disposal teams) of the Portsmouth Flotilla.
Name
Thomas Mellor
As Head of Technical Partnerships, Tom leads the UKHO's collaboration with technical partners, including Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), enabling the development of e-navigation products and S-100 solutions for Electronic Chart and Information Display Systems (ECDIS). Tom works at the forefront of the latest ‘next generation’ navigation technologies to support the implementation of new standards that can help improve safety, efficiency and optimisation.
Panel discussion details
The session started with an introduction from the UKHO, outlining the scale of some of the challenges being faced by shipping today, along with some of the data standards and digital solutions of tomorrow that could lead to transformative benefits for the industry.
Delegates heard from a panel of industry leaders and experts across the maritime industry. These panellists provided their unique perspectives on some of the most important topics across the industry, including digitalisation, decarbonisation and how we can use data to support better decision-making.
At the end of the discussion, the audience posed many questions to the experts through a live Q&A.
Read our blog about the conversations that took place during the UKHO's panel discussion from London International Shipping Week 2023.
Meet the panellists
- John Dillon-Leetch, Port Hydrographer, Port of London Authority
- Keith Johnstone, Associate Director, Ports, Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA)
- Carole Plessy, VP Maritime and Energy, OneWeb
- Paul Marks, Head of UK Data Partnerships, UK Hydrographic Office
- Thomas Mellor, Head of Technical Partnerships, UK Hydrographic Office
- Pekka Pakkanen, Director, Blue Visby
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