DUBAI, United Arab Emirates-Wednesday 23 October 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]
This
year’s The Maritime Standard (TMS) Tanker Conference, held at The
Atlantis, the Palm, Dubai, reached a new attendance record. The one-day
event, which took place on Tuesday 22nd October, attracted close to 300
delegates, the highest yet.
Trevor
Pereira, Managing Director, was clearly delighted. He said, “The fact
that so many people took time out from their busy schedules to attend
shows that this conference is a much needed opportunity for tanker
industry professionals to meet with their peers and discuss and debate
key issues. The big rise in delegate numbers shows the topics that we
selected for the agenda were relevant were the things that people wanted
to come and talk about.”
This year the
theme of the Conference was Opening up New Horizons, reflecting an
underlying sense of optimism within this sector. Clive Woodbridge,
Conference Editor, says. “This is a time of considerable volatility and
uncertainty within the tanker shipping business, but the mood is
defiantly upbeat. Despite well documented challenges, there are
significant opportunities that are ready to be seized as well, and that
mood came across clearly in many presentations.”
The main
keynote address was given by the Director General, Federal Transport
Authority - Land and Maritime, H.E. Eng. Ahmed M. Shareef Alkhoori. He
said, “We are committed to supporting tanker shipping in all aspects,
operationally, commercially and of course from a safety and security
perspective. The tanker shipping business is vital to the economic
wellbeing of this region and we have to protect and nurture it through
challenging times.”
He continued,
“As many of you know we are at an advanced stage of reviewing and
revising the UAE Maritime Law. This is an important process and one
which we hope to bring to a conclusion in the near future. I believe the
changes being proposed will be highly beneficial to the tanker business
generally and to those owners based in the region especially. Our aim
is to provide a framework to allow more owners of tankers, of various
types and sizes, to consider the UAE flag.”
Other keynote
addresses were given by Abdulkareem Al Masabi, CEO of ADNOC Logistics
& Services; Ali Shehab, CEO of Kuwait Oil Tanker Conference; and
Abdullah Bin Damithan, Chief Commercial Officer, DP World, UAE Region.
They all helped set the scene by providing a strategic analysis of
current market trends.
The opening
session then assessed the best strategies for capitalising on fast
changing market conditions. The audience heard from influential and well
respected authorities on the shipping industry, including Matthieu De
Tugny, Executive Vice-President, Marine and Offshore, Bureau Veritas;
Michael Jorgenson, acting CEO, Oman Shipping Company; Petros Doukas,
Former Deputy Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs, Greece; Jesper
Kjaedegaard, Senior Advisor and Board Member, Marcura Group; and Capt.
Anoop Kumar Sharma, until recently Chairman and Managing Director of The
Shipping Corporation of India.
Other
speakers who made a big impact in the second session, discussing how to
best adapt support infrastructure and support services to ensure market
success, included Anders Østergaard, CEO, Monjasa; Mathew James
Plumtree, Director, Offshore and Engineering, Drydocks World Dubai ;
Capt. Mohamed Al Ali, Senior Vice President, Ship Management, ADNOC
L&S; Rajiv Agarwal, CEO and Managing Director, Essar Ports; Haitham
Al Taie, General Manager, Finance and Corporate Support, Oman Drydock
Company; and Eng. Waleed Altamimi, General Manager, Tasneef.
The tanker
industry faces a host of technical, legal and regulatory challenges at
present and the topicality of these issues ensured delegates remained in
their seats right to the end Speakers in this session included Nijoe
Joseph, Partner, Stephenson Harwood; Pawan Sahani, Business Development
Director, Middle East & Africa, DNV GL; Rashid Isa Rishi Al Heddi,
Group Managing Director, Seamaster Maritime; Kirsty Cattanach, Senior
Associate, Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla; and Capt. Zarir Irani,
President, International Institute of Marine Surveying (IIMS).
Clive
Woodbridge concluded, “This was the best Tanker Conference yet in terms
of delegate numbers and speaker quality. We have received a lot of
positive feedback already, with delegates saying that they appreciated
the programme and the effort made by our speakers and panellists. Of
course, the Conference is a chance to exchange ideas and learn about
current and future developments, but it is also a great meeting place
for senior figures within the tanker industry. I know from talking to
people that everyone appreciated the networking opportunities and we are
pleased to be able to facilitate high level connections within the
industry.”
Contacts
The Maritime Standard (TMS)
(A Division of Flagship Events LLC)
Ammaar Murtaza Moosa, +971552454466
E: ammaar@flagshipme.com
Tel: + 97143805556, Fax: +97143805509
www.flagshipme.com
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