Welcome to the Maritime Symposium 2025 in Syros!

For those of you who have visited other Greek islands, Syros stands out with its rich maritime history and industrial legacy. It is fitting that this symposium, focused on maritime innovation and blue technology, takes place on an island that was once a hub of pioneering advancements.

In the 1850s, Syros was at the height of its prosperity, featuring a Philharmonic opera, customs chambers, the Eastern Telegraph Company center, and factories for typography, glassworks, leather, and cotton processing. Shipping and shipbuilding were central to this thriving economy, and the entire island was deeply connected to the maritime industry. The port of Hermoupolis hosted one of the Mediterranean’s most intricate transit warehouses, and Syros was home to Greece’s first ship register and the Hellenic Steamship Company, founded in 1856. Syros was truly the birthplace of the Greek industrial revolution, a cradle of innovation that ultimately saw its light dim as global progress evolved.

Today, Syros’s legacy calls on us to confront new complex challenges. With the exponential growth of data, artificial intelligence, and autonomous technologies, we stand at the forefront of a radical transformation in the way ships operate—and in how society functions at large. Massive amounts of data are reshaping the maritime industry at an unprecedented rate, offering the potential to make ships greener, safer, and more efficient. These advances, however, demand immediate action, as today’s ships are already obsolete; the shift to cleaner, smarter vessels needed to start yesterday.

In this historic setting, we honor the spirit of Syros’s innovation and resilience as we face the task of building a sustainable and technologically advanced maritime future. Together, let us explore how we can harness these new technologies to drive progress, honoring Syros’s legacy while pioneering the next wave of maritime innovation.

For the General Chairs and PC

Professor Dimitris Zissis