Istanbul-based marine surveyor and bunker specialist VTS Shipping is heading into Geneva Dry 2026 with a focus on what works in practice, as new technology beds in and market pressure builds across segments.

Managing partner Captain Ali Ihtiyaroglu says some of the long-discussed technologies are now delivering measurable results at sea. “Wind-assisted propulsion has crossed a line rotor sails are now producing third-party verified fuel savings of up to 25% on live operations,” he notes, adding that he has “seen them working at sea, not in a brochure, and my scepticism has largely been retired by the evidence.”

He adds that data is shifting expectations just as quickly. “On the data side, LEO satellite connectivity is making real-time vessel monitoring a standard expectation rather than a selling point, which changes what technical inspection can look like entirely.” AI is also moving beyond trial phase, he continues, with “AI in route optimisation and predictive maintenance maturing fast, roughly 69% of operators now report genuine integration, not just pilots.”

On the market outlook, Ihtiyaroglu reckons the top end of dry bulk is holding up. “Capesize looks reasonably firm. South Atlantic iron ore and bauxite flows are holding, and forward rates around $30,000/day represent a real improvement on last year.”

The picture is less clear in the mid-size segment. “Panamax is more complicated: over 600 newbuild deliveries expected this year a decade high figure hitting a segment already absorbing coal trade contraction,” he says, warning that volume pressure is already feeding into quality concerns. “A surge in orders does not automatically come with a surge in quality assurance,” he adds, noting that “when shipyards are under volume pressure, consequences show up later in inspections and disputes.” For 2026, he says, “selectivity matters more than usual.”

Looking ahead to Geneva Dry, Ihtiyaroglu says he is more interested in practical exchange than headline announcements. “Mainly the Digital Dry Hard Talk workshop format cuts past announcements and asks what is actually working in the field,” he explains, adding that “that is conversation I want to be part of.” He says he would “rather have that discussion in a room of practitioners than in a panel of prepared statements.”

On spending, he suggests the industry is only partway through a shift in mindset. “Partially. Larger operators have made the connection between data investment and margin, they’re committing capital and seeing returns,” he says, while “smaller operators are still anchored to unit cost.”

That cost focus is particularly visible in the survey market, he argues. “Firms win work by cutting fees. Inexperienced surveyors, rushed reports, losses that don’t get caught,” he says, adding that “client saves on the survey, pays far more in unrecovered bunkers or arbitration later.” In his view, “cheap survey is an expensive choice,” especially as regulatory pressure builds, with “under EU ETS and IMO CII, that logic is getting harder to ignore.”

He points to VTS Shipping’s own numbers as an example of a different approach. “In 2025, we supervised over 1.5 million metric tonnes of bunker operations globally and delivered $4.6 million in verified bunker savings directly to our clients’ balance sheets,” he says, stressing this is “not projected. Not estimated. Recovered and documented, operation by operation, port by port.”

The company keeps tight control over its work, he adds. “Every survey we conduct is carried out by our own experienced surveyors not subcontracted, not delegated to whoever happens to be available in that port,” he says, calling that “foundation of accountability.”

With emissions rules tightening, Ihtiyaroglu warns that delaying decisions is no longer neutral. “Under EU ETS and IMO CII pressure, deferring expenditure on quality is no longer a conservative choice it is an unbooked liability,” he says, adding that the key question now is “not whether to invest. It is which investment, with whom, and on what terms.” The mindset is moving, he concludes, “in the survey space, it is not shifting fast enough.”

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