World shipping giants converge in Singapore at Asia Pacific Maritime 2012

>> Premier maritime event ready to sail

This year, more than 1,300 leading international maritime companies from 53 countries, a 40 per cent hike as compared to the last edition in 2010, will be exhibiting in one of Asia’s leading maritime events.

APM will also bring together more than 70 world maritime thought-leaders and host 14 official pavilions including Asian shipping giants, China, South Korea and Japan as they return with bigger pavilions and higher participation numbers. Over 13,000 Asian visitors are expected to attend the three-day exhibition and conference.

With shipping trade in Asia going strong, industry experts have expressed confidence in the rise of Asia’s influence as a major player in global shipping.

“China, Korea, and Japan have long been the world’s leading shipbuilding nations, and they are home to a large and growing number of ship owners, manufacturers and other related industries. At the same time, Singapore has grown to become a maritime centre unparalleled around in the world in terms of its concentration of ship owners, operators, and financial institutions,” said Noboru Ueda, chairman and president of ClassNK and vice-chairman of the International Association of Classification Societies Ltd. (IACS) Council.

Ueda will be delivering his take on the outlook of the maritime industry at APM as one of the keynote speakers. “With the growing importance of South Asian countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka to not only manning, but also shipbuilding, ship owning, and offshore energy development, Asia is truly the engine of the maritime world,” he said.

Visitors will have the opportunity to network with ClassNK as well as other maritime heavyweights like COSCO (Weihai) Shipbuilding Marine Technology Co. Ltd, ExxonMobil Marine Lubricants, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., Rolls-Royce, Shell Eastern Trading (Pte) Ltd, Siemens Pte Ltd and SINOTRANS&CSC Shipbuilding Industry Corporation on the exhibition floor.

Occupying two levels of the Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands, more than 1,300 leading international maritime companies will showcase the latest innovation in marine engineering and port technology with over 100 new products at this year’s APM.

At a time when minding costs are paramount and efficient technical and operational measures are in demand, visitors will be able to learn about the newest marine solutions to improve fleet efficiency and technology to improve fuel savings and ballast water management, and view the latest in power instruments innovation and ship safety and security features.

“Asia is the driving force in the shipping industry today, and the maritime community here has a vital role to play in helping the industry successfully integrate digital navigation into bridge operations,” said Ian Moncrieff CBE, chief executive of UKHO and Admiralty.

“We are delighted to bring the Admiralty Digital Integration Workshops to Singapore at the Asia Pacific Maritime to help meet the demand for strategic and practical advice on achieving compliance with the ECDIS Mandate, and to equip shipping companies with the knowledge and skills they need to embrace the digital future of navigation,” he added.

Michelle Lim, managing director of Reed Exhibitions, which organises APM, said: “We are privileged to have on board the committed support of 45 maritime associations this year and working with key industry associations to tailor a conference series of such high quality.

The ultimate beneficiaries will be industry participants that we hope will fully utilise the wide offerings at APM to garner market insights and discover opportunities even amidst this tough year ahead.”

Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 460 events in 36 countries. In 2010 Reed brought together over seven million active event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organised by 34 fully staffed offices.

Reed Exhibitions is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a publisher and information provider. In 2010, Reed Elsevier made an adjusted profit before taxation of £1,279 million on turnover of £6,055 million.