SeaCras took part in the International Cruise Summit 2025 in Madrid (November 18-19), where our CEO, Mario Špadina, delivered a talk and presentation on the growing importance of early warning systems within pollution monitoring for the cruising industry. In his session, titled The Future of Cruising: Early Warning Systems for Ocean Preservation, Mario outlined practical strategies that cruise operators can implement to detect environmental risks earlier, strengthen operational resilience, and support long-term ocean preservation efforts.
The audience was made of high-level representatives in the cruising industry, ranging from executives, port operations and environmental officers, as well as policy and strategy decision makers (including CLIA), regional governments, and national officials.
The discussions that followed the session reflected a clear shift across the industry: sustainability is no longer viewed as an optional initiative but a central requirement for future growth and regulatory compliance in global cruising.
Mario’s lecture focused on the following areas:
- Extension of unregulated or poorly controlled pollutants — beyond MARPOL
- The shift to new fuels (LNG, methanol, ammonia, H₂) and abatement tech can create unregulated or poorly controlled pollutants. (e.g., NH₃/N₂O slip, CH₄ slip, UFP, BC)
- Non-regulated pollution types:
- Underwater noise when approaching the coastline,
- Sediment dispersion, especially near shallow coral or seagrass habitats.
The technologies that were demonstrated focused on the following classes:
- Sensing & measurement technologies:
- Biological & biodiversity sensors (eDNA, biosensors, plankton/fish imaging, microbial sensors) – Alien and invasive species detection and expansion identification
- Acoustic & optical sensors (sonar, acoustic tomography, lidar, optical cameras) — use case: underwater security threats in extended port areas
- Observation platforms & vehicles:
- Satellites & aerial platforms (Earth observation satellites, CubeSats, HAPS, drones) — use case: EMSA sniffer drone to monitor ship emissions
- Data acquisition, processing & transmission:
- Edge & onboard processing (AI chips, onboard analytics, near-real-time processing) — use case: Marine Emissions Scrubbing; Ship Emissions Monitoring
- Data standards, interoperability & integration
The lecture focused on outlining the requirements for future investment in next-generation technology.
Requirements:
- Integrated data ecosystem
- Interoperability and data standards
- Predictive analytics layer
- Secure and scalable cloud infrastructure
Finally, Mario, as an expert in the field, and advisor to multiple bodies of EU Commission, as well as international and regional companies and initiatives, shared his overview of where science is now with development of new methodologies and technologies:
- Real-time demonstration of onboard, tamper-proof, remote measurement techniques for a wide range of pollutants
- Development of an automatic reporting and verification system
- Identification of real-world releases of harmful substances that are currently not regulated, and excessive releases of substances already regulated, both in open seas and in-port operations
- Transparent data sharing
SeaCras CEO’s talk on ocean preservation at the International Cruise Summit 2025 was also covered by one of Croatia’s most reputable business media outlets, Poslovni Dnevnik. Their report highlighted the significance of the company’s contribution to discussions on pollution monitoring, early warning systems, and the future of sustainable cruising, further underscoring SeaCras’ role as a leading innovator in marine environmental protection.
We are extremely proud to see its advanced tools, satellite-based insights, and data-driven capabilities play a meaningful role in helping the sector accelerate this transition toward more responsible and sustainable maritime operations.