International Congress of Maritime Museums - Sydney 2026

Conference
Photo of a large group of people standing on and around a ship.

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ICMM Congress Theme: Maritime Museums in Action – Moving Forward with Courage and Conviction

We warmly invite you to attend the pre-eminent international meeting of maritime museums in September 2026, and the 22nd ICMM Biennial Congress, the first Biennial Congress to be held in Australia. This is being hosted by the Australian National Maritime Museum in our largest city, Sydney. Renowned for the beauty of its harbour, participants will be able to discover the relationship of First Nations peoples to the bamal (earth) and badu (water), as well as explore significant sites of maritime history and archaeology. 

Join us in Sydney

Read welcome messages from the ICMM President Kristen Greenaway and our Museum Director Daryl Karp AM.

Welcome

ICMM program

Useful information

Visiting Australia 

Note that Australia has strict biosecurity laws governing what can be brought into the country. Further information can be found here, Entering Australia.

We strongly recommend that delegates and partners take out travel insurance to cover their travel and time in Australia.

More information on the city of Sydney can be found on the Sydney Tourism Website . Inner city suburbs close to the museum include Paddington, Woollahra, Surry Hills, the Rocks, Glebe, Balmain, Newtown, Marrickville, and Erskineville. Find out more about transport options to the museum.

Other attractions in Sydney and beyond

sydney.com

Post congress tours

Several post conference tours will be available, developed in partnership with maritime museums across the country.

We have also organised a series of tours for congress partners during the week. 

Old photograph showing a plane flying over Sydney Harbour with the bridge in the background.

Sponsors and Supporters

The ICMM Congress Sydney 2026 has been made possible through the generous support of the Australian National Maritime Museum and ICMM.

Additional support has been provided by Boluda Towage, Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Harbour Trust, Sydney Heritage Fleet, Freeman Ryan Design, people4ocean and Woolmark.

Bursaries have been made possible through the generosity of the Australian National Maritime Museum’s USA Bicentennial Gift Fund, the ICMM Richard Foster Bursary Fund, Lloyds Register Foundation and World Ocean Observatory. Additional support has been provided by the Australian Government through Australia now: Pacific edition which celebrates the deep cultural connections between Australia and our Pacific partners.

The Gala Dinner has been supported by Boluda Towage, Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Red Mill Rum.  

Contact us

If you have questions or comments about the International Congress of Maritime Museums, hosted in Sydney in September 2026, please contact the team at the Australian National Maritime Museum by email at ICMM2026@sea.museum 

Contact us

Refund policy

  • Full refund for cancellations received on or before 31 July 2026.
  • 50% refund for cancellations received between 1 August and 2 September 2026.
  • No refunds will be provided for cancellations received from 3 September 2026 onwards (within 10 days of the conference start date).
  • All cancellation requests must be submitted in writing to the conference organisers, ICMM2026@sea.museum  

More about the museum