The INMEX SMM India, yet again brought together global industry stalwarts and experts from the shipping, ports and allied industries to help people explore the latest trends and address pressing industry challenges through India Maritime Conference 2022. The power packed 3-day covered variety of topics in the maritime industry.

This conference was organized by Informa Markets and Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbHin India and took place from 19^th to 21^st January virtually.

Mr Yogesh Mudras, MD, Informa Markets India welcomed the august virtual gathering and spoke about the richness of Indian maritime history. “Despite being so rich in maritime sector naturally, no Indian ports has been placed within 25th spots worldwide,” he informed.

The inauguration session of INMEX SMM India virtual expo witnessed Mr Claus Ulrich Selbach, Business Unit Director, Maritime and Technology Fairs, Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH; Mr Sabyasachi Hajara, INMEXSMM Advisory Chair & Former CMD, The Shipping Corporation of India Limited; Dr Malini V Shankar, Vice Chancellor, Indian Maritime University & Chairperson, The National Shipping Board, Government of India; Mr Sanjay Bhatia, Upa-Lokayukta, Maharashtra State and Former Chairman, Mumbai Port Trust and Chairman, Indian Ports Association.

In his special address, Mr Jayant Singh, Vice Chairman, Inland Waterways Authority of India spoke about logistics being the fastest growing sector, but it has its own obstacles. “Any logistics infrastructure needs land acquisition, but it would not be a good idea, as it involves lot of environmental regulations that needs to be followed. India has a huge potential for waterways, but we have not even taken a baby step, we need to start investing in waterways,” said Mr Singh.

Complementing the thoughts of Mr Singh, Mr Hajara added, “Only road sector has gained importance all these years, it’s time to give more important to water transport.”

Dr Malini Shankar spoke about smart ship solutions and Mr Bhatia requested the government to implement the right policies now for betterment of India’s logistic industry.

Mr Ranjith Paul, Group Director, Informa Markets India proposed vote of thanks concluding the introductory session which paved way for the panel discussion.

A panel discussion on Shipping industry – building for the future was chaired by Jagmeet Singh Makkar, IMEI Chair, Indian Maritime University; Chairman (HK Branch), Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. The panelists – Mrs HK Joshi, CMD, Shipping Corporation of India; Dr Suresh Bhardwaj, Resident Director & Principal, MASSA Maritime Academy, Chennai; Tine Viveka Westerberg, Assistant Professor & Project Manager, Department of Maritime Operations, Faculty of Technology, Natural and Maritime Sciences, University of South Eastern Norway spoke on Navigating the technological, regulatory and market uncertainties in the Industry, How to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead,  future Ship and Future Seafarer and digitalization etc.

A session on Ship building and Ship building was chaired by Mr Hajara. The panelist Madhu Nair, CMD, Cochin Shipyard Ltd, Suraj Dialani, CMD, Konkan Maritime Cluster discussed on exploring the export market in the Indian Ocean region, which will enhance the country’s supremacy in the Indian Ocean Region etc.

The second day of the conference saw a pool of panelists – Mr Rajiv Jalota, IAS, Chairman, Mumbai Port Trust, Chairman, Indian Ports Association, Mr Sanjay Sethi, IAS, Chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Mr Koen Cornilly, Manager Port Projects, Port of Antwerp International, Mr Avinash Rai, CEO, Adani Krishnapatnam Port, Mr Vinit Kumar, Chairman, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, Dr. Jayakumar, CEO, Vizhinjam International Sea Port Limited; Ennarasu Karunesan, Maritime Transport, Ports & Logistics Expert. Founder & CEO UMK Group; Shahzad Athar, Vice President, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd; Mr Raj Khalid, India Representative for Antwerp Port Authority, India Rep for APEC and PAI. They discussed on upgrading India’s port infrastructure to increase its market share, developing world class mega ports with world class infrastructure.

Day 2 also had a session on National logistics policy and Indian Maritime design, where the panelists shared their knowledge on how important IT is in shipping industry. The last day of the session was carried out by Capt Ajay Achuthan, Managing Director, Synergistic Solutions. Dr Batya Yangier and Dr Avraham spoke on why Logotherpy is important and how can it be used for prevention of Mental illness. According to them Logotherapy is a part of ancient Vedic Sciences. Logotherapy which means a therapeutic approach that helps people find personal meaning in life. It’s a form of psychotherapy that is focused on the future and on our ability to endure hardship and suffering through a search for purpose. This session was termed as the most needed session especially during the pandemic.

The event which was supposed to be organized at open space, was held virtually, ended up on a success note with audience joining in from various parts of the globe.

Informa Markets is owned by Informa PLC, a leading B2B information services group and the largest B2B Events organiser in the world. Informa Markets in India (formerly UBM India) is India’s leading exhibition organizer, dedicated to help specialist markets and customer communities, domestically and around the world to trade, innovate and grow through exhibitions, digital content & services, and conferences & seminars. In India, Informa Markets has offices across Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai.

Marex Media