WELCOME TO THE TRAVELLERS OF THE SEA -CONFERENCE!
Experience three cities and two countries during this travelling conference that will take place at the Maritime Centre Forum Marinum, Turku, House of Sciences and Letters in Helsinki, Finland and at the Estonian Maritime Museum in Tallinn, Estonia, on 11th–13th June 2026. It is organised by the Finnish Maritime History Association, the Finnish Maritime Archaeological Society, the Estonian Maritime Museum and the Maritime Centre Forum Marinum. As with the 12 earlier biannual Maritime History Days conferences, we aim to bring together scholars and students working on maritime history and related fields such as maritime archaeology, ethnology and maritime folklore.
The overall theme of the conference is travelling by sea, with no temporal or geographical limits and with a multispecies approach. Travelling by sea is probably as old as human society. Furthermore, non-human animals have always travelled across the seas voluntarily or otherwise. Sea travel has countless purposes: to explore the world, to make trade connections, to migrate, or to cruise. Sometimes the voyagers have been forced to escape from disasters or violent regimes. The Gulf of Finland, for instance, has connected Estonians and Finns for centuries, from the seprakauppa/sõbrakaubandus trade to our own time when the sea area between Tallinn and Helsinki is one of the busiest ferry routes in the world. The increased mobility by people and goods has also raised questions on the sustainability of sea travel. More on the conference themes and topics can be found in our CFP below.
We aim to promote interdisciplinary encounters and discussions, with the goal of bringing together scholars worldwide. The conference is intended for anyone working with topics somehow relating to the sea and maritime travel – previous experience with maritime history, maritime archaeology, or maritime ethnology specifically is not necessary. The bi-annual, peer-reviewed journal Nautica Fennica will be offering participants the possibility to submit their papers in the journal. The publishing decisions will be made by the Nautica Fennica editorial board. More on Nautica Fennica here: https://smhy.fi/en/activities/nautica-fennica.
The conference program includes three keynote lectures, held by Dr. Kaori Nagai (Senior Lecturer in Victorian Literature, University of Kent), Dr. Mirja Arnshav (Research Coordinator, The National Maritime Museum, Stockholm), and Dr. Matteo Barbano (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, University of Genoa). Please find an introduction of our keynote speakers below.
Important:
- Takes place on 11th–13th June 2026
- CFP deadline 1st November 2025 (sent by email to talous[at]smhy.fi)
- Decisions announced by 5th December 2025
- The conference will be held in-person, and we cannot guarantee hybrid participation. Conference language is English apart from 11th June, when the new researchers’ meeting will be held in Finnish and Swedish.
CFP downloadable here: 
Call for Papers_Travellers_ 2026.pdf
Keynote introductions: keynote_introductions_.pdf
For any inquiries, please contact conference secretary Emilia Syväsalmi (talous[at]smhy.fi)
Photographs: Aurinkoa ammutaan. Forum Marinum.
Matkustajia nousemassa F.Å.A.:n matkustajalaivaan. Museovirasto (Finnish Heritage Agency), Suomen merimuseon kuvakokoelma FÅA - SILJA LINE.
Last updated on 17.6.2025.