At the time of his Mare Forum appearances, Irek Kuligowski was Chairman of the Polish Shipmanagers' Association. At the 2nd Mare Forum Poland in 2017 he addressed the topic of unmanned vessels, noting that while technically possible, autonomous ships lacked public acceptance, particularly for tankers and vessels carrying dangerous cargo.
He was a panellist at Mare Forum's 1st Mare Forum Poland 2016 and 2nd Mare Forum Poland 2017.