Japanese Shipowners & Maritime Professionals Show Support for Sea Asia

Japan’s maritime business leaders to join regional counterparts at key event in April

Sea Asia 2011 spotlights ‘The Asian Voice in World Shipping’

Over 12,000 maritime professionals and decision-makers expected to congregate in Singapore

Tokyo, Japan - Japanese shipowners and maritime professionals are showing their support for Sea Asia, the region’s leading conference and exhibition event for the shipping sectors, and are expected to arrive in numbers when Sea Asia opens for three days from 12-14 April in Singapore.

The central theme, The Asian Voice in World Shipping, will be projected in the event’s conference by top executives of leading international companies from Japan and other Asian nations as well as Europe and other areas.

Sea Asia 2011 was today endorsed by senior figures in the Japanese shipping community at a briefing in Tokyo hosted by the event co-organisers, Seatrade and the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF).

Today’s briefing was led by Mr Christopher Hayman, Chairman of Seatrade together with Mr Koji Miyahara, Chairman of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) and President of the Japanese Shipowners’ Association.

Mr Miyahara said today: “Sea Asia has grown in significance since its launch in 2007 and we hope the 2011 event will be the largest yet. I believe it will be supported by many representatives from Japan’s shipping and maritime industries as it is well-recognised as a major meeting place for the exchange of ideas and views.

“Japanese shipowners strongly support the concept of a greater voice for Asian shipping which is why we will be supporting Sea Asia 2011”

Seatrade’s Christopher Hayman added: “The support of the Japanese shipping and maritime communities for Sea Asia is vital for the success of the event as we recognise that Japan remains one of the world’s great maritime nations which continues to play a leading global role in both shipowning and shipbuilding.

“I know that the theme of the Asian voice in shipping is one that is high on the agenda for the Japanese shipping community which has already made great strides in ensuring that Asian owners have a clearer and strong voice in world shipping affairs.”

Other speakers at today’s briefing were Mr Noboru Ueda, Chairman and President of ClassNK and Chairman of IACS Council and Mr Erik Gundersen Papp, Senior Vice President and Senior Advisor, Shipping, Offshore & Logistics, DnB NOR Bank ASA, Singapore Branch. DnB NOR is one of the world’s leading ship finance banks and also one of the Sea Asia’s principal sponsors.

Mr Ueda of Class NK will be delivering the opening remarks for the Technical Day which is one of the parallel sessions to be held on the second day of Sea Asia’s conference (13 April).

Speaking today, Mr Ueda said that as far as the Asian voice in world shipping was concerned, it was the IACS’s membership’s role to provide active technical contributions and technical leadership to the global maritime community including IMO and to ensure that IACS decisions and agreements reflected the needs and opinions of the entire maritime industry, including those of Asia.

Other industry leaders lined up to speak at the Sea Asia 2011 conference include Kenichi Kuroya, President & CEO, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd (“K” Line), S.S. Teo, MD of Pacific International Lines Pte Ltd (PIL) and President of the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), Yudhishthir Khatau, Vice Chairman and MD of India’s Varun Shipping, also President Designate of the Baltic & International Maritime Council (BIMCO); Philip Clausius, President and CEO of FSL Trust Management; Akira Akiyama, Division Vice President Engineering, Pacific Division, ABS; Remi Eriksen, COO & Head of Division Asia, Pacific & Middle East, DNV; Roger Roue, Principal Technical Advisor of the Society of International Tanker and Terminal Operators’ (SIGTTO); Andreas Sohmen-Pao, Group CEO of BW Maritime and CH Tong, CEO of Keppel Offshore & Marine.

As Sea Asia delivers a siren call to the international maritime community, now recovering from the global economic crisis, the organisers have reported satisfaction with the event’s continued growth and reputation – not only as a platform for the exchange of knowledge and opinion, but as a recovery tool for sales and marketing teams seeking to expand customer bases.

More than 85% of the exhibition space has already been booked by maritime, shipping and offshore-related companies from close to 40 countries, and the organisers confidently expect to surpass the numbers of the last Sea Asia, when over 10,000 executives from 62 countries came for the three-day event. Leading the Japanese pavilion at the Sea Asia exhibition is Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) and the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO). Other Japanese exhibitors include Cornes & Co Ltd, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, Naigai ROPE Mfg. Co., Ltd and Tokyo Nisshin Jabara. The Sea Asia 2011 exhibition will also feature other country pavilions including China, Norway, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The three-day event at Marina Bay Sands is expected to host over 12,000 participants. The organisers are honoured to have Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Mr Teo Chee Hean as the Guest of Honour to officially open Sea Asia 2011 and tour the exhibition on the morning of April 12.

Sea Asia 2011 is principally sponsored by DnB NOR Bank ASA, Executive Ship Management, Lloyd’s Register, NOL Group and RightShip. Other sponsors include ABB Pte. Ltd., ABS, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK), DNV, DVB Bank, GAC, HMS Far East Pte Ltd, Ince & Co, Jurong Port, Keppel Offshore & Marine, MTM Ship Management, Panama Maritime Authority, Pacific International Lines (PIL), PSA, Sembcorp Marine, ShipServ, Standard Chartered Bank, The Standard P&I Club, Tiger Oil Marine and V Ships.

Click here to download the Sea Asia 2011 Fact Sheet (pdf)

For more information about Sea Asia 2011, visit www.sea-asia.com