Last week ESA’s Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) team travelled to Singapore for the 20th Singapore Maritime Week, a key event in the maritime calendar. Bringing together industry, policymakers and innovators from across the global maritime sector, this year’s event focused on shared priorities including safety and resilience, sustainability and decarbonisation, digitalisation, and international collaboration. It provided an opportunity to engage with stakeholders in Southeast Asia, explore emerging market needs, and demonstrate how European space-enabled services are supporting innovation across the maritime sector.
Sharing the stand with ESA BASS were three companies who were selected through a competition open to all businesses with a current or completed ESA-supported project. Applications were assessed against a range of criteria including relevance to the event themes, market potential, scalability, strength of the proposed event activation plan, and expected value aligned with growth opportunities in Southeast Asia.
The three companies selected represent a diverse cross-section of high-impact maritime innovation:
DNV presented work from an ESA-supported satellite-based methane detection programme over land and sea, supporting emissions monitoring and decarbonisation.
“Participating in SMW under the ESA banner has been incredible; it has been a key enabler and we really connected with lots of people. Meeting the right level of contacts has been incredibly valuable”, said Barbara Scarnato, Head of Section for Space Analytics at DNV.
Amphitrite presented a pilot high-resolution satellite-based surface current monitoring service aimed at improving routing, safety and operational efficiency.
“Working with ESA BASS really brings a huge amount of value, especially in helping a startup connect with future clients. Being here at the ESA booth is great, and it's one of the best places for us to showcase our solution” said Alex Stegner, CEO and Co-Founder of Amphitrite.
AWAKE.AI showcased a port call optimisation system designed to support more efficient and sustainable port operations.
Reflecting on the partnership with ESA BASS, Kimmo Kummala, Co-Founder and VP of Engineering at Awake.AI said “working with BASS has had a very big impact for us, enabling us to develop a solution that the customer really needs. This has been a great event for us, engaging with existing contacts and meeting a lot of new customers and thinking about potential new product ideas.”
Closing day one, ESA hosted a networking event at the stand which was attended by a range of international players and was an opportunity for the companies and BASS to showcase their projects and make new connections.
The week held many opportunities to engage with stakeholders, one of which was an invitation from the International Association of Ports and Harbors to contribute to its Technical Committee Days, sharing perspectives on the role of space-enabled services in supporting maritime resilience and operational performance.
“We had a hugely productive week in Singapore and as usual the maritime sector extended a warm welcome to us” said Nil Angli, Maritime Lead for ESA. “Space is no longer a niche enabler in the maritime sector - it is becoming part of the operational backbone supporting safer operations, better decision-making and the transition to greener shipping. It was also great to be side by side with Amphitrite, Awake.Ai and DNV, the companies supported by ESA to grow their services into Singapore and the wider APAC region."
ESA’s first participation at Singapore Maritime Week provided an important platform for Europe to showcase the role of space in addressing maritime challenges, while supporting European companies to build visibility, strengthen connections and explore opportunities for commercial growth through international collaboration.
This is a sub‑call to the Artic Region funding call, and supports the development of space‑enabled services addressing environmental protection and climate resilience in the Arctic region.
It focuses on monitoring, protecting and strengthening Arctic ecosystems together with economically critical activities such as fisheries and aquaculture, which are increasingly exposed to climate change, pollution and growing maritime pressure.
