Maritime Industry Council co-organises BIMCO Asia Shipping School

The five-day maritime seminar at the International Finance Centre will give 56 participants from the shipping sectors of Hong Kong, the Mainland, other parts of Asia and Europe the opportunity to share practical shipping knowledge and keep abreast of the latest developments of the shipping industry.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the seminar, the Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing (Transport), Mr Francis Ho, said, Recognising the established role of international shipping in the Hong Kong economy and witnessing the fast growth and development in shipping in the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong has been actively fostering co-operation with the international maritime community, in particular BIMCO.

We are also placing great importance on the need for quality maritime professionals for the long-term, sustained development of the shipping industry.Mr Ho was confident that the BIMCO Asia Shipping School 2008 would repeat the success of the Check Before Fixing seminar, which the Hong Kong Maritime Industry Council co-organised with BIMCO last year to help newcomers establish themselves in the industry.

He hoped the council would continue to join with BIMCO in hosting similar industry events.

Based in Denmark, BIMCO is a shipping organisation with more than 2,500 members covering two-thirds of the globe, and is a leader in maritime training.

BIMCO's Asia Shipping School is the Asian equivalent of its Summer Shipping School held annually in Copenhagen since 2002.

The first two BIMCO Asia Shipping Schools were held in Singapore and Shanghai in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

This year's event covers general updates such as the sizes and types of ships and who's who in shipping, as well as in-depth knowledge of topics like bills of lading, voyage charters, time charters and dispute resolution.

Speakers are all experts with 30 to 40 years' experience in the shipping industry and the programme is complemented by case studies, a networking session and an evening harbour cruise.