Held from 27 to 31 March at Bilbao Exhibition Centre
Shipowners and shipyards from 19 countries, with an interest in the Spanish market, have confirmed attendance at the World Maritime Week, which will take place from 27-31 March 2017 at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre and will offer various B2B programmes and meeting points for four sectors: naval, port, fishing and marine renewable energies. Shipping and construction companies from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Germany, Greece, Denmark, United Kingdom, Ireland, Iran, France, Belgium, Morocco, Turkey, Cyprus, Egypt, Holland and Vietnam have signed up for the Sinaval networking programme organised by the UK company Meet the Buyer.
The Marine Energy Week will also include a networking space with B2B meetings, led by European Enterprise Network, as well as a Marine Wind Power Workshop, and Eurofishing and Future Port will have specific areas to hold interviews. The World Maritime Week gala dinner, planned for the 28th, will be another of the programme’s highlight and will also serve to bring together all the participants. The FINE Awards will be given out at the event – a total of seven statuettes for the following categories: ship, shipyard, shipowner, engineering project, institution and professional. There will also be an honorary lifetime achievement award and a special award recognising the fishing, port and marine renewable energy sectors.
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES AS A STRATEGIC ELEMENT
The conference programme of World Maritime Week includes common sessions and also specific talks in each area. It is a conference of international renown thanks to the high level of the speakers, decision-makers and experts in the maritime field, who will offer a specialised view of the global scene. Some of the speakers at the Opening Plenary Session, which is the same for all four congresses, include Alejandro Aznar, President of the Spanish Maritime Cluster; Philippe Louis Dreyfus, President of BIMCO- The Baltic and International Maritime Council, the world’s largest private international shipping association; and Patrick Verhoven, Secretary General of ECSA, European Community Shipowners’ Association.
The following people will be speaking at Sinaval, where the programme will also deal with reducing the environmental footprint, the view of charterers, opportunities in the international military market, the challenges of the Basque maritime industry and the new strategic plan for 2017-2020: Adolfo Utor, President of Balearia; Christophe Mathieu, CEO of Brittany Ferries; Walter Collet, Managing Director of Fairplay Towage; Juan Riva, President of Suardiaz Group; Luc Gillet, Senior Vice President of Shipping at Total; Miguel Luque, Maritime Transport Director at Repsol; José Antonio Sierra, Mexico Army Admiral; and Jorge Carreño, President of Cotecmar, amongst others.
At the Eurofishing congress, which deals with Tuna Freezing and Fishing in the Future, some of the speakers include Harrison Charo-Karisa, Director of the Kenya State Department of Fisheries; Stefaan Depypere, Director of International Affairs and Markets for the European Commission’s DG MARE; Svavar Svavarsson, Business Development Manager at HB Grandi, and Yimin Ye PhD, Chief of the Marine & Inland Fisheries Branch of the FAO.
Speakers at FuturePort, the conference on Infrastructure and Equipment for a More Sustainable Maritime and Port Industry, will include Thomas Doepel, Head of Group Purchasing at Finnlines; Ramón Oliete, Managing Director of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics; David Simón, from the Brazilian company Tertium Participaçoes; Emmanuel Van Damme, Commercial Director of AP Zeebrugge; Jan Lewko, from AP Gdynia; and Guillermo Deister, Chief of Strategic Planning for Ports and Maritime Unit in Mexico, amongst others.
Lastly, the Marine Energy Week talks on offshore wind power and ocean energy include the participation of Giles Dickson, CEO of Wind Europe, the European Wind Energy Association.
LEADING COMPANIES IN THE EXHIBITION AREA
World Maritime Week will gather leading companies in the exhibition area, situated in the BEC’s Luxua Hall, which will be divided into sectors. Major shipyards like La Naval, Zamakona, Murueta, Balenciaga, Navantia, Armon and Gondan have already booked a space at the event, where the number of exhibiting companies will not exceed 70, as it is seeking to maximise business opportunities between all participants.
Whilst the first day of the programme, Monday 27th, will be devoted to private meetings, and the last day, Friday 31st, will include visits to the facilities of the exhibiting companies, the central block of the agenda will concentrate on conferences, workshops, exhibition area, posters, B2B meetings and social acts.
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