Cayman Maritime 2017

The Cayman Islands Shipping Registry, in collaboration with a steering committee from the private sector, including Cayman Maritime Services Park and law firm Maples, is gearing up for Cayman Maritime 2017. This conference brings together a wide range of organizations and companies in the shipping and yachting industries to the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort on May 1-2, 2017.

The local committee is proactively promoting Cayman to raise its profile as a prime maritime business hub, with the added competitive benefit of Cayman Maritime Service Park, part Cayman’s Special Economic Zone, which makes it efficient and cost-effective for maritime companies to set up a physical presence in Cayman.

"Cayman Maritime 2017 provides an opportunity for our maritime sector and indeed the whole jurisdiction to showcase the array of top quality services that Cayman offers," said Mr. Joel Walton, CEO of the Cayman Registry.

Cayman has a well-respected shipping registry with an outstanding reputation, a maritime services park where shipping and maritime companies can set up a tax-neutral physical presence, and excellent maritime legal and corporate service providers. The 2-day conference comes on the heels of last year’s highly-successful Cayman Maritime Week, which drew attendees from around the world and gave Cayman a chance to demonstrate its many competencies as an international maritime centre.

The Committee has invited several leading industry organizations to provide program content, so the conference will be insightful and engaging, with dynamic keynote speakers and provide interesting, thought-provoking interactive discussion panels.

Cayman Maritime 2017 opens Monday May 1 with Mare Forum presenting the Cayman Islands 5th Shipping Summit. The day will be packed with industry expert speakers, interesting sessions and panel discussions, and will be the perfect venue for sharing knowledge and exchanging ideas. Agenda topics include shipping trends, yachting business, maritime tourism infrastructure, the environment and “Doing business in the Cayman Islands.” There will be a dinner for delegates, speakers and dignitaries that evening, providing an opportunity for further networking and socializing with like-minded industry professionals.

On Tuesday May 2 the conference will hear from the Women’s International Shipping and Trade Association Cayman Islands(WISTA Cayman), North American Marine Environment Protection (NAMEPA) and Women in Maritime Caribbean, Cayman Islands (WiMAC Cayman) on marine pollution and marine environment protection in the Caribbean. WISTA Cayman's immediate past president country liaison for WiMAC in the Cayman Islands and partner at the law firm, Maples and Calder, Sherice Arman is a presenter and active member of the Cayman Maritime committee. She indicated that the seminar will focus on the lack of sufficient marine pollution legislation and mechanisms in place in the Caribbean region to deal with the discharge of waste or emergencies such as accidents, oil spills, collisions, coral damage and ship groundings.

“We want to bring this to the attention of law makers and stakeholders in the region because it’s important to put legislation into place to respond to these emergencies and attribute responsibility where necessary,” she said.

Ms. Arman says that through events like these the women in the industry can lend support to other groups who have been working for years to bring these issues to the fore.

Mrs. Doris Jackson, the current president of WISTA Cayman and Manager, Events & Special Projects at the Cayman Registry, added that events like these are ideal for raising awareness of increasing opportunities for women in the international shipping industry.

“It’s  about  getting  the  message  out  and  empowering  women,  letting  them  know  that opportunities are out there for them in our industry” she said.

The steering committee has decided to host the larger Cayman Maritime Week on a bi-annual basis, and continue hosting a regional summit every second year.