Exploring the future of shipping

President and CEO, Thomas Doepel represented Finnlines at the Ferry Shipping Summit in November 2025. He attended a panel discussion together with several colleagues from leading shipping companies, on the topic of “Cutting edge RoPax/RoRo Ferries”.

The discussion addressed key topics such as electrification, eFuels, and other transitional solutions, which are essential for achieving sustainable shipping. However, as Thomas Doepel highlighted, another equally important aspect deserves more attention – the human and crew dimension.

With the expected shortage of skilled maritime professionals and the growing need to train crews in digital and electric technologies, the security and nationality aspects of manning also taking on new significance.

These are important considerations for the future resilience and security of maritime logistics, yet they remain relatively underexplored.

At Finnlines, we believe that sustainability must go hand in hand with human expertise and preparedness. The maritime transition is not only about technology and fuels, it’s also about people.