Crew Connect Global 2026

We are thrilled to announce that we will be exhibiting and speaking at CrewConnect Global. This year's leading maritime industry conference will take place at the Shangri-La the Fort, Manila, Philippines, from the 20^th to the 22^nd of October 2026.

Meet the team at Booth 19, Level 3, where we will showcase our latest solutions to enhance operational efficiency, safety, and compliance within the maritime industry. Delegates will have the opportunity to engage with our team of experts and experience firsthand the range of our digital service offering. Conference Delegates will also have the chance to hear from Mintra's Director, Maritime Strategy & Business Development, Erle Kristin Wagle and Senior Vice President, Captain (Dr) Sartaj Gill.

Celebrate with Us!

Join us at Booth 19 during the afternoon break at 16:10 on Tuesday the 20th for a glass of fizz as Mintra celebrates a defining milestone: servicing 15,000 vessels worldwide by 2026.

At 15:30 on Wednesday the 21st, the team welcomes attendees back to Booth 19 to celebrate Mintra's shortlisting for the Mentor AI Innovation Award.

2026 Innovation Award

Mintra’s Mentor AI has been named a finalist in the Innovation and Technology category of the Crew Connect Global Awards 2026, recognising its use of governed AI to give seafarers trusted operational information at the point of need.

Launched in December 2025, Mentor AI addresses a longstanding gap between completing formal training and applying that knowledge in real operational situations.

Mentor AI provides an alternative. The AI-powered operational assistant gives seafarers immediate access to information drawn from Mintra’s library of more than 400 verified maritime safety and compliance courses. Maritime organisations can also incorporate their own approved courses, procedures and documentation, creating a controlled knowledge source aligned with their operations.

Mintra's 2026 Manila Forum

On Monday, the 19th of October 2026, we will also be hosting our annual Manila Forum at the conference hotel. This is an opportunity to meet with the Mintra team and hear about our latest products and services. Share your knowledge and gain insights from your industry peers and experts from Mintra. The event is free to attend, and sessions will start at 11:30 am, with a buffet lunch on arrival, panels and presentations, followed by networking from 3:00 pm.

'Recruiting the First Digital Generation: Why Your Pipeline Doesn’t Reach the People You Need'

Tuesday, 20 October 2026, at 14:40-15:35 SGT

Mintra's Senior Vice President, Captain (Dr) Sartaj Gill, will join a panel discussion on recruiting Gen Z seafarers in emerging supply corridors like Bangladesh and West Africa. These digital natives are still recruited through paper-heavy systems built for a different era. With the officer shortage accelerating and talent sitting in plain sight, why isn't the industry recruiting differently?

Panellists include: Pia Meling, Chief Marine Services Officer, OSM Thome, Dr. Rakesh Ranjan - Programme Manager, South Asia, Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), Josephine Le - Managing Director and Founder, The Hood Platform, Erik Mohn - Director of Crewing, Stödig Ship Management, and Tracey Shearer - Founder and Managing Director, EQ8 Recruit, Creator of EQ8 Puls8™.

'STCW Phase 2: 22 Gaps, a New Timeline, and Who Decides the Priority Order'

Wednesday, 21 October 2026 at 10:00 - 10:45 SGT

Mintra's Director, Maritime Strategy & Business Development, Erle Kristin Wagle, will moderate a Steel Man debate, where each speaker argues the case they most oppose before making their own, on STCW Phase 2. Phase 1 identified 22 gap areas, including emerging technology, mental health, gender sensitisation, cyber resilience and alternative fuels. With the work plan running to 2029, flag states, shipowner associations and seafarer unions don't share the same priority order, and today's alternative fuel vessels will be crewed under interim voluntary guidelines for the foreseeable future. So who decides what gets fixed first?

Panellists include: Haakon Storhaug - International Coordinator, Norwegian Maritime Authority, Lydia Ferrad - ITF Accredited Representative to IMO, International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), and Capt. Alexandra Hagerty - Founder, Hagerty Consulting / Division Chief, NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection, Hagerty Maritime Consulting LLC, Somasundar Nair - Executive Director, Fleet Personnel Department, Fleet Management Limited and Pradeep Chawla - CEO / Chairman, Marine PALS / GlobaMET

'AI Transition — From Pilots to Enterprise Systems:
Who Owns the Liability When the Algorithm Gets It Wrong?'

Wednesday, 21 October 2026, at 12:05-12:50 SGT

Mintra's Sartaj Gill will join a panel discussion on AI's move from isolated pilots into enterprise-wide systems embedded in onboard workflows, compliance reporting, procurement, and commercial decision-making. AI-powered rostering already analyses fatigue and performance data, ML models flag payroll anomalies, and predictive maintenance is becoming operational standard. But as these systems embed into decision chains, the governance and liability questions become critical: when an AI-generated recommendation contributes to an incident, injury or regulatory breach, who is accountable? The panel will share their companies' enterprise-wide AI deployment roadmaps and work to surface flaws, blind spots and unintended consequences in real time.

Panellists include: Peter Schellenberger - Director and Founder, Novamaxis.com/Ledgid, Capt. Theodoros Alegkakis - Chief Personnel Officer, ABC Maritime AG, Ashish Mediratta - Head of Crewing Fleet Management and Technology, A.P. Moller - Maersk A/S, and Ali Hussain - Regional Managing Director Asia, ATPI and Viktor Dukov - Founder & CEO, SeAI.

Mintra is a Platinum Sponsor for this year’s event, and the team will demonstrate a range of products and services, including Mintra's award-winning Maritime course library, the industry-leading learning and competency management system, TrainingPortal^TM, and our OCS^© crew management and payroll system.

Award-Winning Maritime Course Library

2,600+ courses including Health, Safety and Environment, Engineering and Technology, Business and Leadership and Trade Skills.

TrainingPortal - Learning & Competency Management

Trainingportal enables the efficient delivery, management, and reporting of remote workforce training and competence from one centralised solution.

OCS - Integrated Crew Management Solution

OCS HR is a comprehensive suite of HR and Crewing systems developed over 40 years.

About CrewConnect

Seatrade Maritime Crew Connect Global is the industry-leading marine crewing conference, dedicated to the issues, challenges, and opportunities facing the future of seafaring. Crew Connect is the annual meeting point for professionals responsible for every aspect of crewing and seafarer wellbeing.

As new industry and geopolitical challenges shape the future of shipping, the urgency to provide for the seafarer of tomorrow continues to gain momentum. The three-day agenda covers the most important issues, opportunities, threats, and challenges that the shipping industry needs to consider.

Meet the team