Anticipation for sold out 2025 WISTA AGM & Conference builds as full programme revealed
06 October 2025 – The 2025 WISTA AGM and Conference will be the biggest WISTA International event to date, bringing together over 400 maritime professionals from around the world.
This year’s organisers – WISTA Spain – report a sold-out event with three weeks to go until doors open at the World Trade Center in the vibrant Spanish port city of Barcelona. Taking place from 22 – 24 October and under the theme Powering the Future of Shipping and Trade: Global Energy in Challenging Times, proceedings will focus on some key issues and challenges facing global logistics, including decarbonization, electrification, and emerging technologies.
Elpi Petraki, President of WISTA International, said: “The scale of this year’s WISTA conference is a powerful signal of our continuing momentum in creating a more sustainable and inclusive maritime future. The event will not only address pressing industry challenges, but it will provide an opportunity for attendees to collaborate, share ideas and offer meaningful input, to underline the growing role of women in shaping the shipping, trading and logistics sectors.”
Conference attendees will hear from a stellar line-up of industry experts, with highlights including a ‘fireside chat’ with Arsenio Domínguez, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization and Dorothea Ioannou, CEO of the American P&I Club. Attractions also include a high-impact roundtable on Decarbonisation: Impacts on Shipping, Cruise, and Energy Industries, and a timely discussion on Shore Power and Port Electrification – chaired by Isabelle Ryckbost, Secretary General of the European Sea Ports Organisation.
Meanwhile, Marta Prado Larburu, CEO of INCOTRANS and DS4T will lead a discussion on global trade, before Ann Fenech, Partner and Head of the Marine Litigation Department, Fenech & Fenech Advocates, examines the importance to international trade of the Convention of International Effects of the Judicial Sale of Ships.
Rosana Velasco, President of WISTA Spain, said: “It is a great honour for WISTA Spain to host this prestigious international event. We look forward to welcoming members of the global maritime community, as well as representatives from the Spanish government and maritime authorities to Barcelona in November. The WISTA International Conference is a unique opportunity to develop as professionals, exchange knowledge and create networks that can help careers flourish, change minds and strengthen the maritime industry.”
Download the full agenda here: https://wistabarcelona2025.com/detailed-program/
About WISTA International
Formed in 1974, the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA International) is a global organisation connecting executives and decision-makers around the world. WISTA International serves as a connector for its network of more than 6,000 professionals from all sectors of the maritime industry.
Today, National WISTA Associations (NWAs) are active in 62 countries, providing in-country and regional networking, business and skill-building opportunities, corporate visibility, and facilitating relationships within the industry. Each NWA is a member of WISTA International, which guides and cooperates with national associations on upholding the values and aims, and achieving the objectives agreed at the international association’s AGM.
