Singapore to host regional maritime confab

MANILA, Philippines - With the world economic crisis winding down, the 11th edition of the Asia-Pacific Maritime (APM) Conference and Exhibition will be held in Singapore on March 24-26 this year, organizers annnounced yesterday.

Meant to create competitive market opportunities for maritime industry players, including those in the Philippines, the three-day biennial event will consist of 10 conferences and seminars covering ship financing, maritime law, marine machinery, electronics and communications, tanker shipping and trade and green shipping.

Expected to attend the conference are maritime businessmen, entrepreneurs, managers, professionals, specifiers and buyers from around the world. Twenty- seven industry organizations from 12 countries are supporting the event which will be held at the Singapore Expo. Business Times, the Singapore business daily, is the official media partner.

With the theme “Shipping in Asia Today, Preparing for the Future,” the event also aims to provide industry professionals with new ideas and innovations to address the critical needs arising from the recovery in the global shipping market.

Hennie van Schoor, Director of Business Performance for Asia Pacific of Maersk Line, the world’s biggest container shipping line, will keynote the conference. He will present his views on the crisis and provide insights into where the shipping industry is headed.

Joining him is a panel of high-level shipping executives — Volkmar Wasmansdorff, Executive Vice President of Germanischer Lloyd; Bill Smart, Managing Director of Bengal Tiger Line Pte Ltd.; and Divay Goel, Director and Head of Asia Operations, Drewry Maritime Services (Asia) Pte Ltd.

With 90 per cent of the world trade being transported by ship, the conference will likewise encourage the shipping industry to play an active role in helping reduce emissions and embrace ecological responsibility.

APM, in partnership with the Danish Marine Group, will also present the “Green Ship of the Future” seminar to share the vision for green shipping going forward, including discussions on business and technological issues and case studies.

Kurt Feldtfos, Senior Sector Manager of the Danish Marine Group, said the Danish maritime industry has been proactive in its role in ecological responsibility and stressed the need for the global maritime players to embrace the “Green Ship” program.

“We are confident that this approach will eventually be the key solution for companies to tap on new business projects that involve green shipping,” he added.

Said Thomas Yong, Customer Relations Manager of SE Asia and Taiwan, Aalborg Industries: “As market leading manufacturer of environmentally friendly equipment for the maritime market, the Aalborg Industries Group develops new green solutions to support our customers in building and operating their commercial fleet.”

Edwin Lampert, technical conference series chairman, also noted that the conference aims to reflect the maritime industry’s challenges and opportunities ahead.

The APM 2010 will feature 900 companies and 12 official country pavilions, including those from China, showcasing all kinds of technology, equipment and system for shipbuilding, shipping services and port operations.

Said Michelle Lim, Managing Director, Reed Exhibitions, Singapore: “The conference program has been painstakingly put together to deliver maximum value for delegates and visitors.”