The 3rd CSN Mediterranean Crewing Conference drew a full house of international crewing professionals, HR leaders, shipowners and technology providers in Athens end of June, placing a spotlight on seafarers’ welfare, training and digital transformation.

Held at the Stavros Niarchos foundation cultural centre to mark the ‘Day of the Seafarer’, the event brought practical insights and ideas, with participants united in their commitment to advancing the wellbeing and capability of crews worldwide, according to Cyprus Shipping News (CSN).

Adonis Violaris, managing director of CSN, welcomed delegates and outlined the conference’s ambitious agenda.

Moreover, he noted the publication’s role in creating high-level platforms for dialogue on crewing challenges and innovation, adding that the event had reached full capacity and maintained strong audience engagement throughout the day.

Henrik Jensen, CEO of Danica Crewing Specialists and chairman of the conference, introduced the key themes of welfare, competency development and technology’s evolving role.

He reminded participants that while tools and trends change, the human element remains central to maritime excellence.

Furthermore, the opening session featured a welcome address by ambassador Stavros Avgoustides of the Republic of Cyprus in Athens, who spoke about Cyprus’ long-standing commitment to maritime development.

A highlight of the morning was Anna Pittalis, commercial director of Intergaz Ltd and president of WISTA Cyprus, who delivered a passionate address on championing diversity and inclusion.

She argued that diversity is not a checkbox but a strategic imperative, sharing concrete steps companies can take, from inclusive recruitment to active mentorship, to drive better performance and innovation onboard.

Julien Ledoux of KVH Media Group followed with a session on crew wellbeing and emerging global connectivity options, showing how satellite networks and content services are enabling communication and structured wellness programming at sea.

In a related presentation, captain George Papanelopoulos of Cyprus Sea Lines explored how welfare, skill development and digitalisation must evolve together, sharing examples of e-learning, gamification and real-time feedback tools now used to boost morale and continuous development across crews.

A panel moderated by Zoe Morphitou, sales director EMEA at KVH Industries, tackled the challenges of implementing welfare programmes onboard.

Captain George Vlachos, Konstantinos Oikonomou, Amalia Marcou, Katerina Palla and captain Papanelopoulos pointed out that budget constraints, stigma and logistics remain hurdles.

Nevertheless, companies investing in welfare ambassadors, mental health support and flexible programming are seeing higher retention and stronger culture.

Technology’s role in crewing strategy was also a key theme. In an on-stage spotlight interview with CSN’s Violaris, Stylianos Psillakis, technical director of Columbia Group, discussed how analytics and operational transparency are helping build modern, tech-enabled approaches.

He stressed the need to balance digital performance monitoring with empowering individuals, saying technology must serve, not replace, the human factor.

This carried into a series of tech-focused presentations. Chrysoula Vasiliki Patrikiou of Pyli Net demonstrated their platform for tracking training compliance and fatigue indicators in real time.

Additionally, Aashish Puri, chief revenue officer of Maritime Trainer, outlined how modular learning, automated assessments and integration with fleet operations are reshaping training delivery.

A subsequent panel, moderated by Henrik Jensen, examined how companies can reconcile safety and compliance requirements with fostering a positive workplace culture.

Theophanis Theophanous, captain Vasiliki Ketse, Chrysoula Patrikiou and Aashish Puri discussed ideas such as gamified learning modules, giving crews ownership of training schedules, and aligning incentives with safety culture.

A special moment of the day came during the charity ceremony supporting LifeLine Hellas.

Ioannis Patiniotis acted as charity sponsor, while Angeliki Margariti-Andrews accepted contributions on behalf of the organisation, bridging the conference’s themes of compassion and social responsibility with tangible action.

In his closing summary, Jensen underlined that empowering seafarers requires a focus on wellbeing, forward-looking training and meaningful technologies.

He stressed the need for collaboration across HR, operations, training and IT to create integrated strategies that enhance both people and performance.

Violaris concluded by thanking participants, sponsors and organisers, noting that attendees remained engaged until the final remarks, a clear testament to the relevance of the discussions.

The conversation continues in Hamburg at the 1st CSN North European Crewing Conference on September 9, with further ICT forums planned in Limassol and Athens this autumn.