The Global Maritime Forum holds its Annual Summit 2026 in Shanghai on 21 and 22 October 2026, the first time the gathering has been held in mainland China. The summit takes place on the North Bund, held alongside the North Bund Forum, Shanghai's own international shipping conference, and brings together chief executives of shipping companies, ports, charterers, shipbuilders, financiers and insurers.
The Global Maritime Forum is a not for profit organisation that convenes the leadership of the shipping industry around decarbonisation, safety, human sustainability and the future of seaborne trade. Its annual summit is invitation based and structured around working sessions rather than a conventional conference format, and it is the origin of several industry coalitions on zero emission fuels and green shipping corridors.
Shanghai is the world's busiest container port and China the largest shipbuilding nation, so the choice of venue places the industry's sustainability agenda in front of the shipowners, yards and port operators whose decisions carry the most weight. The organiser confirmed the mainland China venue and dates in its own announcement.
For chief executives and boards in shipping, ports, energy and commodities trading, the summit is one of the few venues at which the leadership of the global fleet, its cargo owners and its financiers meet in a working format. Gulf port operators, national shipping companies and energy exporters have a direct stake in the fuel and corridor commitments that emerge from it. Executives in marine insurance, classification and ship finance will read the summit's outcomes for signals of how quickly the industry intends to move on alternative fuels.
