Maritime Innovations, Global Recognition

Marco Poisler is Chief Operating Officer for UTC Overseas and a student of the inaugural cohort of the Bauer College Executive Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) Program.

Those two worlds aligned recently at the Breakbulk Americas Conference when he was awarded for an impressive feat of ocean transportation he directed that combined his academic and industry skills.

UTC Overseas executed a “groundbreaking maritime transport project” that delivered goods from New Orleans to Cabinda, Angola. The vessel traveled over 6,400 nautical miles in just 72 hours without the need for a traditional towage or dry dock.

“It was a combination of hard commercial negotiations and finding a solution that saved the clients millions of dollars that was also safe for everyone involved,” Poisler said.

The project received the 2025 Power Move: Ocean Transport award and was praised by Breakbulk Americas as a show of innovation, technical excellence and global teamwork.

“UTC Overseas has set a new industry standard for complex maritime transport,” they wrote.

Poisler said that it was an honor to be recognized for the work he and his team put into this project. It could not have been accomplished without a dedicated team of individuals from around the world who would, at a moment’s notice, drop everything to make it happen, he added.

“This was scheduled at the end of the year, toward Christmas,” he added. “We had some members of our team show up in the blink of an eye on New Year’s Eve. I’m fortunate that our firm attracts really high caliber professionals.”

At the same conference, Poisler moderated a workshop on the use of artificial intelligence in maritime and logistics. Speaking alongside him was Endowed C. T. Bauer Chair of AI Meng Li, who is also the founder of the college’s Human-Centered AI Institute.

From left to right: Marco Poisler and Endowed C. T. Bauer Chair of AI Meng Li

From left to right: Marco Poisler and Endowed C. T. Bauer Chair of AI Meng Li

The session explored applications of AI in transport engineering and showed how companies are using advanced technologies to increase efficiency and integrate automations without replacing the human element.

Poisler said that when he started at Bauer, he was curious to learn more about AI and its growth across different areas of business. He was already aware of its uses across finance and healthcare, but he had an increased interest in ways that the maritime industry could utilize these technological advancements, he added.

He decided to focus his dissertation research on the adoption of AI tools and other advanced technologies in maritime logistics. He conducted surveys among industry professionals and customers to gauge user acceptance, as well as to determine areas that could be improved.

(UTC Overseas) has become a leader in applying (digital and AI) technology to maritime.

- Marco Poisler -

Equipping cargo ships with advanced technologies and AI automation would increase efficiency, he said, but what would happen if those systems went down? Would the crew know how to resolve the problem?

With this new age of technology, maritime professionals should be trained in how to operate AI software on ships, while also being well equipped to safely navigate the ocean without the use of assisted technology, Poisler added.

“It’s just mind-blowing to think that four years ago, I wouldn’t even dream of applying digital and AI technology research in an industry that is slow to adopt new technology,” Poisler said. “Our firm (UTC Overseas) has become a leader in applying such technology to maritime.”