On July 8th, the 2024 DSH International Shipping Innovation Conference, jointly hosted by China(Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone-Lingang Special Area and Shanghai Maritime University, was held at Lingang Center. Attendees included Jinshan Chen, Member of the Standing Committee of CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Director of Lin-gang Special Area Administration, as well as Director of the Management Committee; Evgenios Kalpyris, Ambassador of the Republic of Greece to the People’s Republic of China , Andreas Nordseth, Director General of Danish Maritime Authority, Yangfan Chen, Executive Vice President, China COSCO SHIPPING Corporation Limited, Yinbiao Shu, Academician from the Chinese Academy of Engineering; De Chen, Member of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Science and Member of the Royal Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters, Clive Aston, Arbitrator and the Former President of London Maritime Arbitrators Association, Yves De Leeneer, President of Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology(IMarEST), and Greg Dolan, CEO of the Methanol Institute. Also in attendance were Baoru Song, Secretary of CPC Shanghai Maritime University Committee, and Beiping Chu, President of SMU.
The conference, themed Digitalization and Decarbonization: Empowering Shipping for a Shared Future, aimed to seize new opportunities in the global shipping industry's digitalization, intelligentization, and decarbonization transformation, accelerate the filling of gaps in high-end shipping services, enhance global allocation capabilities of shipping resources, and further strengthen the overall competitiveness of Shanghai as an international shipping center.
Jinshan Chen pointed out that Lingang Special Area, as the forefront of China's reform and opening-up and the bridgehead for Shanghai to build an international shipping center, has always taken open innovation as its core mission and high-energy shipping services as an important direction and core content of its open development. Lingang Special Area will focus on creating an environment conducive to open innovation, continuously stimulating the vitality of the shipping market, will focus on building digital and intelligent functional platforms to continuously improve shipping service efficiency, and will focus on constructing a green and low-carbon industrial ecosystem to continuously enhance international competitiveness.
The main forum of the conference was chaired by Baoru Song, Secretary of CPC Shanghai Maritime University Committee. De Chen, Member of the Norwegian Academy of Technological Science and Member of the Royal Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters, Jinyu Cheong, Head of Baltic Exchange Asia, Clive Aston, Arbitrator and the Former President of London Maritime Arbitrators Association, Yves De Leeneer, President, Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), Silvia Ding, Managing Director of Maersk Greater China Area, Franger Chouraqui Adeline, General Manager of CMA CGM China, and Greg Dolan, CEO of the Methanol Institute respectively discussed and shared insights on topics including the transformation to green new fuels, the establishment of world-class shipping exchanges under the backdrop of international shipping digitalization and how maritime arbitration adapts to international shipping changes and innovations.
During the conference, three parallel forums were set up on Accelerate the High-end Shipping Services to Foster a Shipping Functional Cluster,Accelerate the Uptake of New Energies to Facilitate Transition to Low-carbon Shipping and Accelerate the Transition towards Digitalization to Create a High Ground for the Allocation of Shipping Resources, jointly organized by Shanghai Maritime University, BIMCO ASIA PACIFIC, Shanghai Lingang Special Area Economic Development Co., Ltd, Shanghai International Port(Group) Co.,Ltd, Methanol Institute, Shanghai Lingang Special Area Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd, COSCO SHIPPING Technology Co., Ltd., Beyond Shipping, and Shanghai Harbour City Development(Group) Co., Ltd. Participants extensively exchanged views on various topics related to the international shipping digitalization, intelligentization, and decarbonization transformation.
Beiping Chu, President of SMU, attended and delivered a speech at the Parallel Forum on Accelerating the Filling of High-End Shipping Service Gaps and Building a Shipping Functional Agglomeration Area. He emphasized that Shanghai must plan and advance the construction of an international shipping center from a higher starting point, accelerate the improvement of high-end shipping services, and achieve new breakthroughs in building a shipping functional agglomeration area. With a 115-year history of maritime education, Shanghai Maritime University has adapted to the new demands of modern shipping services by establishing a multi-level, high-quality system for cultivating shipping talents. This includes the establishment of platforms such as Shanghai Advanced Institute of International Shipping (SAIIS) and Asia Cruise Academy, along with the introduction of interdisciplinary programs in artificial intelligence, big data management and application, and supply chain management. The university has also launched dual-bachelor programs and micro-credential initiatives, focusing on training compound talents in shipping finance, maritime law, cruise management, logistics in free trade zones, and supply chain management. Leveraging its status as a national-level innovative base for co-cultivating foreign-related legal talents, the university is accelerating the training of legal talents in foreign-related shipping. Furthermore, utilizing its international maritime organization stationed at the university, it actively participates in organizing and hosting high-level international conferences, aiming to enhance China's maritime education international discourse and Shanghai's influence as an international shipping center. The university is willing to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with various parties, utilizing its disciplinary and professional resource advantages to strive for filling the gaps in high-end shipping services, fostering more high-quality specialized talents, providing more intellectual support, and making concerted efforts to build a platform for Shanghai to create a shipping functional agglomeration area.
John Platsidakis, Vice president of Costmare Shipping and Honorary Chairman of INTERCARGO, emphasized in his speech that education serves as a crucial driver for societal progress, particularly within the shipping industry. He highlighted its vital role in enhancing industry efficiency, ensuring safety, and promoting global trade. Pratschikakis urged investments in maritime education, especially for advancing the training of onboard personnel.
At a parallel forum, Memorandums of Cooperation were signed between Shanghai Maritime University and Costmare Shipping, as well as the International Group of P&I Clubs, to promote global maritime education cooperation. The focus is on enhancing practical training for high-level maritime and maritime insurance talents, aligning with the new developments in international maritime centers. Keynote speeches were delivered by Grant Hunter, Director for Standards, Innovation and Research of BIMCO, Minghua Cao, General Manager of Marine Insurance Operation Center, PICC Property and Casualty Co., Ltd. and Wei Huang, Director of Futures Derivatives Department of Shanghai Futures Exchange. Under the theme of Strengthen Opening-up for Gathering International Organizations and Institutions, discussions were moderated by Wei Zhuang, Head of Asia Pacific of BIMCO. Participants included Helio Vicente, Director(Employment Affairs) of International Chamber of Shipping ,Jasmine Wu, Chief Executive-Hong Kong Branch of International Group of P&I Clubs, Mustafa Insel, Accredited Responsible Technical of ASEF and Philippe van den Abeele, CIO of Consortium Maritime Trading. Another session focused on Promote the Alignment of International Rules and the Maritime Arbitration moderated by Zhengliang Hu, Professor of SMU. Speakers included Clive Aston, Arbitrator and the Former President of London Maritime Arbitrators Association,Sam Tsui, Secretary and Chairman of the Event Committee at Hong Kong Maritime Arbitration Group, Jenwei Loh, Senior Partner at Dentons Rodyk, Andrew Ridgen Green, Partner at Stephenson Harwood and Hyunji Park, Chief Representative at Korea Commercial Arbitration Board INTERNATIONAL Shanghai Office. Lastly, discussions under Empower the Shipping Industry through Capacity Building Implementation were moderated by Wei Ruan, Director of International Office of SMU and Head of Maritime Technology Cooperation Center in Asia. Participants included Melissa Ho, Deputy Director of International Division at Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Jan Vander Borght, Representative of Port of Antwerp-Bruges at Economic Diplomatic Advisor to the Belgian Embassy in China, Takeshi Nakazawa, Executive Director of International Association of Maritime Universities and Adam Weintrit, Rector of Gdynia Maritime University in Poland.
As the host of the conference, SMU is committed to developing a globally influential maritime university with a focus on distinctive and high-quality development strategies. The joint hosting of this conference will strongly promote the development of SMU maritime technology, talent, and internationalization efforts, further driving the international shipping industry towards digital intelligence and environmentally sustainable development.
The conference was attended by representatives from 46 international organizations, industry associations, 34 shipping companies, as well as globally renowned cargo owners, classification societies, port terminals, investment banks, new energy enterprises, and other related entities.
