The 8th ICMASS took place in Hamburg on October 8 and 9, 2025, and was jointly organized by the Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services (CML) and the German Society for Positioning and Navigation (DGON). During this two-day conference, an exciting program presented a wide range of research and development projects in the field of autonomous and intelligent ships. More than 100 presentations covered topics ranging from the technical and regulatory requirements for operating autonomous ships to the challenges for ports and terminals and the challenges of navigation when dealing with other ships and objects in the water. In addition, obstacles to the introduction of autonomous maritime ships (MASS) and cybersecurity requirements, as well as the promotion of good (autonomous) seamanship on board, were the focus of discussions. 

As with every ICMASS, the conference program showcased current research findings and the latest innovations, covering a broad spectrum of current developments in this field. The three main topics of the MASS conference—technology, operations, and economic aspects—were complemented by the ISSS track. The Intelligent and Smart Shipping Symposium highlighted the latest advances in digital maritime systems, including improved positional resilience, sensor fusion for situational awareness, ship-to-shore integration via digital twins, and the development of intelligent navigation aids.

Fraunhofer CML hosted the event in its research building in Harburg's inland port and offered insights into its laboratories in addition to an exhibition featuring innovative technology providers. A special highlight of ICMASS 2025 was that several sessions took place on a ship at the CML quay, which set sail for Hamburg's Landungsbrücken at the end of the event.

The event offered numerous opportunities for networking and collaboration. Around 200 participants from research and science, the maritime industry, technology providers, regulatory authorities, and politics were expected to attend. Registration and further information about the event were available on the DGON website and on LinkedIn.

We will be back at SMM from September 4 to 9, 2024. The Fraunhofer Waterborne institutes will be showcasing innovative solutions at the joint Fraunhofer stand in Hall B6. The CML will be focusing on solutions for the automation of shipping, maritime cybersecurity issues, AR/VR applications for maritime training and software for optimized personnel deployment. 

Find more information here. We look forward to your visit!

At TOC Europe from June 13-15 in Rotterdam, our Port Technologies team will be presenting its solution for the mobile use of robots in container loading onto rail. The demonstrator Pin Handling-mR will show on site how the pins on container wagons can be placed by robots in the future.

The CML will once again be exhibiting at the IV International MARISSA Symposium from June 5-6 in Bremerhaven. This year we will be presenting our solution for maritime speech recognition, marFM®. Experience live at our stand how difficult-to-understand maritime radio messages are immediately converted into text that can be shared among emergency services in a search-and-rescue situation, for example.

At this year's Digital Ship Conference, the CML will be exhibiting its solutions relating to the SCEDAS® software environment. Among other things, SCEDAS® enables mathematically optimized personnel and task planning on board. The CML is also represented in the conference program with a presentation on "Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Condition Monitoring and Maintenance Tasks".

The CML will be represented for the first time at the central trade fair for digital healthcare in Berlin. We will demonstrate our SCEDAS® staff scheduling optimization software at the joint Fraunhofer stand in Hall 2.2, Stand D-108: Originally developed to support crew planning, SCEDAS® is also ideal for staff planning in clinics.

From March 12 to 14, 2024, the CML will be exhibiting at OI 2024 in London. The exhibits will focus on the demonstration of autonomous systems, such as the combination of several autonomously operating vehicles and integration via user-friendly interfaces and interfaces.

You will find us and other institutes of the Smart Ocean Technologies @ Fraunhofer research group, OT@F for short, at the joint WTSH stand.

The Digital Ship Cyber Resilience Forum will take place in Hamburg on December 7, 2023. The CML will be presenting its solutions for the mathematical optimization of crew deployment on board. And team leader Dr.-Ing. Anisa Rizvanolli will present the CML's cyber security activities in a lecture.

6 - 9 June 2023 

Conference and exhibition in Oslo

Nor-Shipping is located in the centre of the oceans. This is where the maritime industry meets every two years - an important hub for decision-makers from all over the world to make contacts, collaborate, do business and develop new business opportunities. 

The Fraunhofer CML will be there again. More information will follow.

May 09–12, 2023 at the Trade Fair Center Messe München

International Exhibition for logistics, mobility, IT and supply chain management

The CML is exhibiting together with Fraunhofer IML. This year's exhibits are our port model for the analysis and optimization of terminal processes, the Port Energy Dashboard, the model of a fuel cell for our research on hydrogen logistics as well as COOKIE, the image-based damage detection on empty containers. We look forward to your visit in hall A3, booth 501!