WEGEMT visited the headquarters of Maran Dry Management Inc. (MDM) on 01 October 2019. MDM is part of the Angelicoussis Shipping Group Limited (“ASGL”) which currently employs a staff of approximately 300 shore-based professionals and over 4,000 officers and crew onboard one of the largest fleets in the world (http://www.marandry.com ).

Dr. Ioannis Ergas (Research Director at WEGEMT) met with Mr. Loukas Kaniaros (Technical Director at MDM) and other key members of staff to discuss about several topics on the current and future situation of the global marine and maritime industry, pertinent training of personnel and the associated role of higher education in Europe. The discussion also covered: a) The innovative solutions that have been implemented in the maritime sector (with respect to Safety, Security, Human Factors, Sustainability, Trust, Training, Innovation etc.) for the preparedness of “drivers” (i.e policy makers etc.) and vessel operators of the future to accept and use connected, cooperative and automated transport modes   b) The main drivers of change (i.e. technologies) and the required skills for the workforce of the future, c) the actions and the European funded projects in which WEGEMT is involved in (MATES, IMPRESSIVE, BEOPEN, TRAVISIONS 2020, Drive2The Future).