One-day London forum will bring together senior maritime, energy, legal, financial, insurance and technology experts to explore practical strategies for managing risk and building resilience ship.energy has announced the launch of the Maritime Risk & Resilience Forum 2026 (MRRF26), a new one-day industry forum designed to address the increasingly complex commercial, legal, operational and financial risks confronting the global shipping and bunkering sectors.
Taking place on 25 November 2026 at the new offices of Watson Farley & Williams in London, the inaugural forum will bring together senior decision-makers and industry experts under the theme “Understanding, Managing and Mitigating Risk Across the Shipping and Bunkering Value Chain.”
The event comes at a time when geopolitical instability, sanctions, volatile energy markets, tightening regulation, fuel quality disputes, counterparty failures and growing commercial pressures are creating new challenges across the marine fuels supply chain.
Llewellyn Bankes-Hughes, CEO and Founder of ship.energy, said: “Risk has always been part of the shipping and bunkering business, but the nature and interconnectedness of those risks are changing rapidly. Geopolitical disruption, sanctions, financial exposure, contractual complexity, fuel quality and market volatility can no longer be considered in isolation.
“The Maritime Risk & Resilience Forum has been created to bring the industry together for practical, informed discussion about how organisations can anticipate these challenges, manage exposure and build greater resilience. We want delegates to leave with insights and strategies that they can put into practice immediately.”
A comprehensive examination of maritime risk
MRRF26 will feature a series of expert-led discussions examining the major areas of risk affecting the shipping and bunkering value chain.
The programme will open with an executive overview of “The Risk Landscape in Global Bunkering”, followed by sessions covering geopolitical risk, sanctions and trade disruption; legal and credit risk; insurance solutions; fuel quality and claims management; and price hedging, market volatility and risk management.
The forum will also examine the growing role of artificial intelligence in shipping and bunkering, including its implications for the future risk agenda.
Confirmed speakers include senior representatives from organisations including Watson Farley & Williams, Citi, Marsh, Attara, Global Risk Management, The Risk Advisory Group, Gray Page, World Fuel Services,
North Standard, Windward, Island Oil, Lookout Maritime, Marine Fuels Alliance, Preston Turnbull LLP, Awyr Las, Infospectrum and S&P Global.
Among the confirmed contributors are Kavita Shah, Partner and Maritime Sector Head, Europe & Americas at Watson Farley & Williams; James Dauris, Senior Advisor at The Risk Advisory Group and former UK Ambassador to Panama; Jonathan Graham, Director, Shipping, Offshore & Logistics, Banking, Capital Markets & Advisory at Citi; James Wilkes, Managing Director of Gray Page; and Martin Crawford-Brunt, CEO of Lookout Maritime, and Mark Smith, Director – Decarbonisation, North Standard.
From geopolitical disruption to fuel quality
The forum will explore how geopolitical tensions, sanctions regimes, conflict zones and changing trade flows are affecting shipping and port operations as well as bunker procurement, compliance and supply security.
Delegates will also examine the contractual protections available to companies operating in the bunker market, approaches to managing counterparty and credit exposure, and the role of insurance in mitigating commercial and operational risks.
Fuel quality will receive particular attention, with experts addressing contamination incidents, fuel testing and verification, ISO standards, specification disputes and claims management, also casting an eye on alternative fuels bunkering and safety.
The programme will conclude with a discussion on building resilience in the bunker market, drawing together the lessons from the day's sessions and considering how organisations can develop more integrated risk-management frameworks.
Practical insight for a changing market
MRRF26 is designed not simply as a forum for identifying risks, but as a platform for sharing practical approaches to managing them.
Delegates will have the opportunity to learn how organisations are responding to geopolitical uncertainty and sanctions, reducing exposure to contractual and counterparty risk, managing fuel quality issues, using insurance and claims strategies, and addressing price volatility through effective hedging and risk-management frameworks.
The event will also provide opportunities for networking with senior professionals from across the international shipping, bunker, energy, finance, insurance and technology communities.
Bankes-Hughes added: “Resilience is becoming a competitive advantage. Companies that can identify emerging risks early, understand their exposure and respond quickly will be better positioned to protect their people, customers, assets and margins.
“MRRF26 is about bringing together the expertise required to do exactly that – and creating a space where the industry can share experience, challenge assumptions and develop better approaches to risk.”
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