CMA Shipping, one of the leading maritime conferences worldwide, already enters
its 27th year. The Connecticut Maritime Association again expects 2,500 guests
CMA Shipping 2012 will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Stamford, Connecticut, from 19 to 21 March 2012. Experts[ds_preview] in trade and shipping from around the world will confront not only the present and near future of ships and shipping, but also shippers and investors’ expectations, ways to run their operations and ships more efficiently, and how to meet the constantly shifting legal, regulatory and safety regimes worldwide.
Serious issues will be debated from fighting modern day pirates with private militias or with the aid of foreign naval forces, reducing congestion on I-95 by building and employing cargo vessels along the New England coast, to tackling green house gas emissions, or behind the scenes talks dealing with some of the most vexing issues faced by the United Nations, Brussels and Washington.
Some of the many prominent speakers and participants at the conference, for example, will be: Yudhishthir D. Khatau (President of Bimco), Nicholas A. Pappadakis (Chairman of Intercargo), Spyros M. Polemis (Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping), Capt. Graham Westgarth (Chairman of Intertanko), Noboru Ueda (Chairman & President of ClassNK), Bernard Anne (Vice President of Bureau Veritas), Tor E. Svensen (President of Det Norske Veritas), Roberto Giorgi (President of V.Ships), and Björn Kjerfve (President of the World Maritime University in Malmö).
Overseas visitors start to arrive days before to visit their customers and peers. Unlike most trade shows, which might draw hordes of people who do not know each other, shipping people are tribal-like. Despite the global nature of the industry it is amazingly interconnected. Thus CMA Shipping is also an important event for networking.
Besides industry leaders and practitioners, the event is usually attended by the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, leaders from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration and while the audience is international, the Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Sub-Committee on Coast Guard and Marine Transportation comes to catch up on what is happening. Students from the maritime schools in New York, Massachusetts and Maine plus the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy can be seen talking to the exhibitors and attending the annual job fair sponsored by the CMA. 2012 Marks the first annual essay contest open to students from all of the U.S. and the five state-run maritime schools. Awards will be given to the three finalists. Further information on all aspects of the event can be seen at .
