The entire second day of this year's SMM will be focussed on environmental matters, led by a conference that will gather leaders from a range of industry stakeholders, the global maritime environmental congress (gmec).

The conference will open with a keynote address on the environmental and regulatory challenges facing the shipping fleet, given by Commander Ryan Allain, chief of the environmental standards division at the US Coast Guard. With the US' more stringent regulations on ballast water management adding to the already complex ballast water discussion, the topic of regional and global regulations are likely to play a large role in the opening speech, as indeed they will in the afternoon sessions.

Allain's introduction will lead into a round table discussion on the sustainable future for the maritime sector, with leaders from major shipping lines, an oil major, LNG supply specialist, and leading shipyard discussing the shape of a green shipping industry come 2030.

From changes to the fuel the world ocean fleet will use in the coming decades, to the effect of increasing regional emissions regulation on short sea shipping and the shape of ships to come, the panel will consider their visions for the future and how shipping will be affected.

Two afternoon sessions will take a closer look at the near and mid-term developments. The first will discuss the technologies available to reduce the pollutants that shipping emits into the sea and air, and the many regulatory pressure shipowners face on both regional and international levels. Legislation, equipment, testing and best practice will all be presented and explored for the topics of ballast water treatment and emissions to air.

The final session of the day is devoted to a topic which aligns closely with business interests of shipowners and operators. Efficiency, whether it be technical or operational, has and in some cases continues to be the differentiator between success and failure in all of the major trades. The plethora of technologies aimed at increasing efficiency, the often complex matter of financing retrofits, monitoring efficiency and the possible future of efficiency will all be discussed by a panel of experts.

Organised by Hamburg Messe and Seatrade, gmec takes place on the Tuesday 8 September at SMM in conference room Chicago. Further details are available on the SMM website.