London International Shipping Week (LISW) kicked off yesterday with the opening of the London Stock Exchange Monday by Shipping Minister Robert Goodwill MP and Commodore Richard W Dorey MA RFA, among others.
LISW is being called the ‘must attend’ event of 2015, with over 100 industry functions and networking opportunities spanning all sectors of the international shipping industry – regulators, charterers, ship owners, ship managers, bunker suppliers, lawyers, ship brokers, bankers, insurers, insurance brokers, commodity traders and brokers, ship suppliers, port operators, shipping service providers and more.
The event also aims to showcase the success of British maritime. In 2014, more than 503.2 million tonnes of freight were handled by UK ports and Ministers are seeing first-hand how private investment in UK ports is driving development and creating jobs. Projects underway include the £300m Liverpool2 container terminal at the Port of Liverpool which will have new berths, quays and cranes able to serve the world’s largest container vessels. London Gateway Port has received £1.5bn investment for its huge port and logistics facilities which will directly create 12,000 full time jobs.
The UK is the leading center worldwide for a broad range of professional and business services to the international maritime community, accounting for 21% of premiums in international marine insurance, over $64 billion in committed ship finance (or 15% of the world loan book) and it has the largest concentration of legal service firms specializing in the sector. London is also the predominant supplier of shipbroking services worldwide and is the major player when it comes to maritime dispute resolution.
This week’s event will culminate with the one-day LISW Conference and Gala Dinner to be held on Thursday September 10th.
LISW is organized by Shipping Innovation – a joint venture between Elaborate Communications and Petrospot – in association with the Department for Transport, The Baltic Exchange, Maritime London, Maritime UK, the UK Chamber of Shipping, UK Major Ports Group, and TheCityUK, the independent promotional body for UK financial and professional services.
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