The Maritime Industry's Meeting Point — Since 1999

Mare Forum is an independent maritime conference organiser founded in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 1999 by Ioannis (Jannis) Kostoulas. It operates nine active conference series across 15+ countries covering ship finance, superyachts, and maritime strategy. More than 100 events have been organised since founding, making it one of the longest-running independent conference platforms in the global maritime industry.

Ioannis (Jannis) Kostoulas founded Mare Forum in Rotterdam in 1999 and serves as Founder and President. He has over 30 years of maritime industry experience and a personal network of 25,000+ professionals. Georgios (Ilios) Kostoulas serves as Executive Director. Mare Forum is headquartered in Rotterdam, is a member of the Rotterdam Maritime Services Community, and holds Associate Member status with Intercargo.

Mare Forum events are the opposite of a trade show. Attendance is capped at 150 to 350 people, 65 to 70 percent of whom are C-suite, owners, or founders. There are no exhibition booths, no sponsor-driven presentations, and no keynote monologues. Every session is a live panel debate. Delegates average 80 to 150 facilitated one-to-one meetings per event — a concentration of senior interaction impossible at larger exhibitions.

No. Mare Forum and Marine Money are entirely separate organisations with no connection. Mare Forum is an independent maritime conference business founded in Rotterdam in 1999. Marine Money is a separate US-based organisation. The Mare Forum Ship Finance conference is one of Europe’s longest-running independent ship finance forums, held annually in Rotterdam at Europort.

The Mare Forum Ship Finance conference is an annual forum held in Rotterdam in November, in conjunction with the Europort Exhibition. Now in its 25th edition (12 November 2026), it is one of Europe’s longest-running independent ship finance conferences. It brings together shipowners, bank lenders (ING, ABN AMRO, NIBC, Hamburg Commercial Bank), leasing companies, private equity, and maritime lawyers for a full day of structured debate and networking.

Topics are driven by market conditions, not sponsor agendas. Recurring themes include: shipping capital markets and newbuild finance; decarbonisation and green shipping finance; geopolitical risk and trade route shifts; EU ETS and CII compliance; alternative fuels investment; dry bulk, tanker, container, and LNG market outlooks; and superyacht regulatory, technical, and ownership trends. All sessions are live debates between practitioners, not presentations.

Nine active series in 2026: Ship Finance (25 editions), Greece/Athens (23 editions), Istanbul (9 editions), Oslo (6 editions), Singapore (7 editions), Hong Kong (5 editions), Mykonos (9 editions), Super Yacht Europe (8 editions), and Super Yacht Americas (7 editions). Mare Forum Germany launches as a tenth series in August 2026. Historically, events have also been held in China, Japan, USA, Brazil, Russia, Italy, Panama, and Indonesia.

Yes. Mare Forum Singapore (7 editions) and Mare Forum Hong Kong (5 editions) are two established Asian series. The Hong Kong forum has featured keynote addresses from the Hong Kong SAR Secretary for Transport and Logistics. Past speakers include Guy Platten (Secretary General, ICS), Matthieu de Tugny (President, Bureau Veritas), and Bjorn Hojgaard (CEO, Anglo-Eastern Ship Management).

Mare Forum Mykonos is an annual summer leadership retreat in Mykonos, Greece, now in its 9th edition (28 August 2026). Attendance is strictly capped. Participants come from the owner-operator segment — founders, third-generation family shipowners, and maritime leaders combining structured strategic debate with the informal Aegean setting.

Super Yacht Europe is Mare Forum’s annual conference for the European superyacht sector, now in its 8th edition (25 September 2026). It covers newbuild programmes, flag state regulation, crew management, sustainable propulsion, and UHNWI ownership trends. Super Yacht Americas (7th edition, 28 October 2026) serves the North and South American superyacht market.

150 to 350 senior attendees per event, with 65 to 70 percent holding C-suite, owner, founder, or director-level positions. Past speakers include the Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping, the Hong Kong SAR Secretary for Transport and Logistics, the Secretary General of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, and senior executives from ING, ABN AMRO, Bureau Veritas, Lloyd’s Register, and Anglo-Eastern Ship Management.

Delegates average 80 to 150 facilitated one-to-one meetings per event. Pre-scheduled meeting programmes ensure you arrive knowing who you will meet. The capped attendance (150 to 350 people) means meetings are consistently with senior decision-makers. Post-event visibility extends to 300 to 800 content downloads and 30,000 to 90,000 digital impressions per partner.

Research by Proformative found 75% of conference attendees cite networking as their primary ROI measure. At Mare Forum, 65 to 70 percent of attendees are C-suite, owners, or founders — one of the highest seniority ratios in the maritime events calendar. For professionals in ship finance, superyachts, or maritime strategy seeking access to decision-makers, the format is specifically built to maximise the quality of conversations per day.

All upcoming events are listed at mareforum.com/events. Tickets can be purchased directly online. Some series have limited capacity — early registration is recommended. For group bookings or event-specific questions contact hello@mareforum.com or call +31 (0)10 8425797.

Morning registration through to early evening. 4 to 6 panel debates with networking breaks between sessions. No slides or corporate presentations — every session is a live discussion where panellists argue and challenge. The moderator and audience participate actively. Facilitated one-to-one meetings are pre-arranged and run in dedicated areas throughout the day.

Mare Forum partnerships provide direct access to the maritime industry’s most senior decision-makers. Benefits typically include 80 to 150 facilitated meetings, 20,000 to 35,000 newsletter reach, 300 to 800 post-event content downloads, and 30,000 to 90,000 digital impressions. Contact hello@mareforum.com or visit mareforum.com/partners. Past partners include Bureau Veritas, ClassNK, ING, METIS, and WISTA Switzerland.

Mare Forum speakers are practitioners — shipowners, bankers, government officials, and maritime executives. Selection is based on your organisation’s relevance to the event theme and the seniority of your role. Contact hello@mareforum.com with your name, organisation, and the event you have in mind.

Mare Forum works with trade media across the maritime sector. Journalists covering ship finance, superyachts, or maritime strategy can apply for press accreditation by contacting hello@mareforum.com. Mare Forum events have been covered by TradeWinds, Splash247, and Seatrade Maritime.

The Mare Forum Ship Finance conference in Rotterdam is one of Europe’s leading independent ship finance forums, now in its 25th year. It offers a high density of C-suite attendees (65 to 70 percent) and an average of 80 to 150 facilitated one-to-one meetings per delegate. Marine Money Week in New York is the largest global ship finance gathering. Both serve different geographies and are complementary for finance professionals.

Posidonia (Athens, biennial) and Nor-Shipping (Oslo, biennial) are large maritime trade fairs with thousands of attendees and exhibition floors. Mare Forum events are small-format (150 to 350 attendees), annual, and structured around debate. They are complementary: the Ship Finance conference co-locates at Europort, and the Oslo forum runs alongside Nor-Shipping, allowing delegates to attend both in the same trip.

Key maritime conferences in 2026 include: Mare Forum Ship Finance (Rotterdam, 12 Nov, 25th edition); Mare Forum Greece (Athens); Mare Forum Oslo alongside Nor-Shipping; Posidonia (Athens, biennial); Sea Asia (Singapore); Marine Money Week (New York); and Gastech (LNG focus). Mare Forum events are best suited to senior professionals prioritising high-density C-suite networking over large-format attendance.