Posted on: 14 April 2017
Thought leaders from the world of government, finance, international trade, shipowning and insurance as well as artificial intelligence innovation and technology will headline the speaker line-up at the flagship London International Shipping Week 2017 (LISW17) conference to be held at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London’s Park Lane, on Thursday 14th September.
Discussion during Session One of the conference, held under the opening theme of ‘Tomorrow’s Maritime World’, will focus on the emotive issues of shifting trade patterns, new technologies and disruption to business models.
Kitack Lim, International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General, will underline the role of the IMO in the free flow of trade while Willem Buiter, Chief Economist at Citi, will ask: “What are the forecasts for new potentially disruptive technologies; what are the future funding models and what impact might they have on shipping? Andreas Sohmen-Pao, Chairman of BW Group, will outline what the maritime industry needs to do to respond to future trends before Dr Martin Stopford, President of Clarkson Research, looks at how shipping will alter in the future.
Major UK and international political speakers will also contribute to what will be a highly stimulating opening session.
Session Two, entitled ‘Tomorrow’s Needs’, will concentrate on the changing business environment and what this means for skills and people. Sarah Kenny, Managing Director – Maritime, Qinetiq, will question why autonomy is a good thing for society and for business, while Inga Beale, Chief Executive Officer of Lloyd’s of London, will discuss how risk can be managed and responsibility attributed in a dramatically changing safety environment.
Legal commentator and honorary QC Joshua Rozenberg, will talk about the long-term evolution of the legal environment in response to rapid changes in technologies (eg automated, driverless ships), changing environmental legislation and evolving consumer expectations, before handing over to Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO Maritime, DNV GL and incoming Chairman of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), who will ask whether regulations can be adapted quickly enough in the face of disruptive change.
The session would not be complete without drawing on the views of the world’s ship owners and employees, provided by Esben Poulsson, Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping, and Mark Dickinson, Board Advisor, ITF.
Session Three of the conference will look at ‘Tomorrow’s Business Solutions’ and ask pertinent questions about how an efficient and innovative maritime business sector will solve tomorrow’s known and unknown challenges. Speakers will include Rupert Pearce, Chief Executive Officer, Inmarsat; Niclas Mårtensson, Chief Executive Officer, Stena Line; and Mikael Mäkinen, President – Marine, Rolls Royce.
LISW17 has already announced that Emily Maitlis, broadcaster, journalist, and presenter of the BBC’s Newsnight, will once again moderate the official LISW flagship conference.
The internationally-acclaimed journalist and broadcaster will bring her forthright and engaging style to the industry-leading conference. With a career spanning almost three decades, Emily began as a documentary maker in Cambodia and China, before developing her career as a journalist with the BBC, NBC Asia, Channel 4 News and Sky. She is a regular presenter of Newsnight.
The LISW17 conference will be followed on the Thursday evening by the official LISW17 Gala Dinner, also to be held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London.
Taking place from September 11 to 15, LISW17 will be the must-attend event of the global maritime calendar with more than 140 industry functions and unique networking opportunities. The events will be organised either by the industry at large through the various LISW17 Supporting Organisations or by Sponsoring Companies of LISW17.
Indeed, Maritime UK announced that it will draw on the successes of its very recent trade mission to Shanghai by organising a ‘China Day’ during the forthcoming LISW17.
The ‘China Day’ event will focus on issues related to trade with China and give participants an opportunity to understand more fully, market trends and business opportunities. UK Government and Maritime UK used the Shanghai trip to invite a delegation of 30 Chinese Government and industry officials to attend LISW17, including the Governor of Pudong, Mr Hang Yingwei, who received an official and personal invitation from the UK Trade Minister, Mark Garnier.
