The significant role that Asia continues to play in the global maritime and offshore industries, even in today’s market environment, were firmly demonstrated at Sea Asia 2017 held in Singapore on 25 – 27 April 2017.

Close to 15,000 participants from 85 countries attended the three-day event with 822 delegates participating in the conference. The exhibition saw 448 exhibitors spread across two floors of Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

Seatrade Chairman, Chris Hayman, said the large number of participants and exhibitors, despite the current headwinds in the industry, is a reflection of Sea Asia’s established reputation in the regional maritime calendar. “The industry is undoubtedly going through a difficult time in some sectors, and we are very pleased that in spiteof this, Sea Asia 2017 was still able to gain the support of key partners, speakers and exhibitors throughout the three days.

“Their support has allowed Sea Asia to continue to be a platform for robust discussions on critical industry issues and potential solutions. This has helped to further reinforce Sea Asia’s role as a leading forum for analysis and debate in the global maritime industry,” said Mr Hayman.

Executive Vice President of UBM Asia Ltd, and Director of Sea Asia 2017, Michael Duck noted that whilst the conference sessions at Sea Asia 2017 delved into some of the key challenges facing the industry today, there was a good deal of optimism for the future of maritime.

“With the challenges and new trends facing the industry today, it was no surprise that discussions over the three days were shaped around the potential solutions and opportunities for the industry in years to come. It was encouraging to see how positive industry leaders are towards the outlook for the maritime sector,” said Mr Duck. This edition of Sea Asia featured five new national pavilions from Denmark, Greece, Japan, Korea and the United Kingdom in addition to those from Singapore, China, Holland, Norway and Panama.

Other features included an exhibition which showcased the works of maritime artist Mr Chung Chee Kit, and the Sea Asia Youth Tour which involved youths from the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) along with education and career guidance counsellors (ECG) working with students and jobseekers.

Mr Andreas Sohmen-Pao, Chairman of the Singapore Maritime Foundation, said the success of Sea Asia 2017 also highlights Singapore’s increasingly important role as an International Maritime Centre (IMC).

“Singapore was recognised as the top maritime capital in the latest Menon Report, a position which was well deserved and will spur further efforts in the years to come.

“This Sea Asia platform was once again a great opportunity for maritime players to interact, hear the latest insights and find new opportunities. The next event in 2019 will be the place to be.” said Mr Sohmen-Pao. Mr Duck concluded that following the success of Sea Asia 2017, the team is already looking ahead to the next conference and exhibition in 2019, which will be held on 9 – 11 April 2019.

“We’re hopeful that the overall maritime industry will improve by 2019 and are looking forward to further building Sea Asia’s role as the established platform for industry leaders to discuss on industry issues and trends as well as solutions to navigate through challenges,” said Mr Duck.