Speakers and chair persons posing after the event at the venue at Texas University Austin Law School
The Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law (IISTL) at Swansea University, in collaboration with The University of Texas at Austin’s Kay Bailey Hutchison Energy Center and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Law, hosted a major international event in Austin on 26 March 2026.
The event brought together leading academics, practitioners, and policymakers to discuss pressing legal and political issues affecting the offshore energy and maritime sectors.
The event marked the second in a series of international gatherings jointly organised by the three institutions. Under an agreement reached in 2024, the partners committed to hosting similar events across three jurisdictions — the United Kingdom, the United States, and Greece — over a three-year period. The inaugural event was hosted by IISTL in London in April 2025.
Hosted this year by The University of Texas at Austin, the Austin event attracted speakers and delegates from around the world, reflecting the growing international importance of the issues under discussion. Co-sponsored by the Texas Journal of Oil, Gas, and Energy Law, the event was widely regarded as a great success, fostering a dynamic and highly productive forum for academic exchange and strengthening the collaboration between the three institutions.
The following delivered papers and/or offered chairing at the event:
- Professor Lia Athanassiou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
- Professor John S Dzienkowski, University of Texas at Austin
- Professor Dr Lauren Fielder, Institute of Transnational Law, University of Texas at Austin
- Professor Miriam Goldby, Queen Mary University
- Professor Susan Hovoroka, UT Bureau of Economic Geology
- Dr Tabetha Kurtz-Shefford, Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law, Swansea University
- Robin Main, Hinckley Allen (Boston)
- Antonoi Massieu, Toeppich & Asssociates (Houston)
- Professor Manos Mastromanolis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
- Professor Barış Soyer, Director, Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law, Swansea University
- Professor David Spence, University of Texas at Austin
- Professor Michael Sturley, University of Texas at Austin
- Professor Melinda E Taylor, Energy Institute, University of Texas at Austin
Speaking after the event, Professor Soyer, the Director of the IISTL, said:
“This was a very successful event not only in attracting leading names in the sector as speakers but also in creating a fantastic academic environment for delegates and participants. It is intended that the papers submitted will be published later in the Texas Journal of Oil, Gas and Energy Law. We are grateful to our hosts on this occasion, namely Professors Lauren Fielder and Michael Sturley, and we look forward to the next event in the series, which will be held in Athens in May 2027.”
The event underscored the value of international academic collaboration in addressing some of the most significant contemporary challenges facing the offshore energy and maritime sectors, while also reinforcing the long-term partnership between the participating institutions.