Key Maritime Event Sea Asia 2013 Launched

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah SINGAPORE, April 24 (Bernama) -- Sea Asia 2013, the latest edition of Singapore's biggest maritime conference and exhibition, was launched at the Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre here Tuesday. More than 180 industry leaders from the global maritime industry attended the launch ceremony to show their support for the award-winning maritime show held in Singapore once every two years. A cornerstone event during the Singapore Maritime Week (SMW), Sea Asia has become a major platform for the shipping community to network and share its expertise amid the growing importance of Asian countries in the maritime sector. The theme for Sea Asia 2013, scheduled from April 9 to 11 next year at the newly revamped Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre, will be "The Asian Voice in World Shipping - Here To Stay". "Through this large-scale exhibition, conferences, workshops and networking events, the mega-maritime show seeks to draw local maritime community and international maritime leaders together to discuss pertinent maritime issues and project the voice of Asia in a powerful way," said Chairman of the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF), Michael Chia during the launch. The SMF and Seatrade are co-organisers of the maritime event. The show has grown rapidly since its inauguration in 2007; exhibition space has more than doubled and the number of attendees has increased by 74 per cent. The event is supported by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). It is also supported by a distinguished International Advisory Panel and the Singapore maritime community, many of whom actively contribute their expertise and knowledge to the various Sea Asia sub-committees. Also present at Tuesday's event was Tan Beng Tee, Assistant Chief Executive (Development) of MPA. Tan said the MPA welcomed events like Sea Asia as they played a role in promoting Singapore as an international maritime centre. "We are happy to note that the event has grown significantly since it started five years ago and we look forward to another successful show at next year’s Singapore Maritime Week," she said. Chris Hayman, Chairman of Seatrade meanwhile said the event was expected to provide a massive opportunity to highlight the scale and nature of Asia's engagement in the marine sector, and its role in driving the industry out of recession. "We are encouraged by the positive uptake in the show at the moment, one year away from the opening, and we are certain that Sea Asia 2013 will be another record-breaking event in terms of deals done, increased exhibition space and attendance numbers." Principal sponsors for the event include leading organisations such as DNB Bank ASA, Keppel Offshore and Marine, Lloyd’s Register and Executive Ship Management. Other sponsors include ABS, Marshall Islands Registry, PSA, and the Standard Steamship Owners Protection and Indemnity. Spanning three days, each day of the conference will be dedicated to different stakeholders in the shipping industry such as shipowners as well as industry related issues such as the green agenda, ship financing, shipyard technology, offshore and project cargo. --BERNAMA