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Maritime leaders debate future April 25 at S'pore owners conference

EXPERTS from the maritime industry will debate the future of maritime shipping the at the Sea Asia 2017 conference Singapore's Marina Bay Sands from April 25-27.

The highlight of the conference will be a debate on the resolution "this house believes that the best days of the private independent shipowner are over" .

This will be followed by a floor debate and concluded with a vote from the delegates themselves.

Moderated by BW Group chairman Andreas Sohmen-Pao the debate will deal with outlook of the shipping industry that has traditionally been privately-owned and family-oriented, which is now facing increased challenges.

Speakers for the motion will be Kenneth Hvid, president and CEO of Teekay Corporation, Michael Parker, global head for shipping, logistics and offshore industries at Citigroup and Mikael Skov, CEO of Hafnia Tankers.

Speaking against the motion will be Wan Hai vice chairman Randy Chen, NS Lemos & Company president Filippos Lemos and Dreyfus Armateur chairman Philippe Louis-Dreyfus, also president of BIMCO.

Speakers will debate the value of going public or taking on private equity from outside investors, and consider whether these are sustainable solutions, given the volatile nature of the shipping industry, say conference organisers.

Founded in 1970, Seatrade was acquired in 2014 by UBM, the world's second largest media and event organiser across a wide variety of industries. Seatrade is based in Colchester, Essex, with regional offices in Dubai, Singapore, as well as representatives in all major maritime centres and cruise destinations across the globe.

For more information, please contact Disha Gurnani at disha.gurnani@bbspr.com.sg (+65 9789 1655) or Caroline Leeming at caroline.leeming@bbspr.com.sg (+65 8742 3266).