The Maritime Standard Tanker Conference 2023

The date and location of the eighth annual The Maritime Standard Tanker Conference can now be confirmed. The event will take place on Wednesday 8th November 2023 and will be staged at the iconic The Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai, which has proved to be a popular and successful home for this event.

The 2023 TMS Tanker Conference, which will feature a packed programme of expert presentations and lively panel discussions, will have the theme of “Net zero – tanker shipping setting the global decarbonisation agenda’, underlining the importance of ongoing efforts to reduce the environmental impact of the shipping industry in general, and the tanker shipping sector in particular. The conference will assess the challenges and opportunities presented by tough new environmental regulations and look at efforts to develop alternative fuels, including LNG, methanol, ammonia and wind power.

The conference will also focus on key short- and long-term commercial and technical trends in the crude, products, chemicals and gas tanker markets. Attendees will get the chance to hear from leading figures in the tanker shipping business who will be presenting their assessments of the key issues. As well as topics relating to tanker owning and operating, the event will also look at essential support sectors, such as classification, bunker supply, law, ship agency and supplies, ship technology, logistics and terminal handling and storage.

As well as providing a chance to get invaluable information and discuss topical concerns, the conference will once again offer an opportunity for speakers and attendees to network informally at a special evening reception afterwards.

In 2022 the Tanker Conference attracted over 250 delegates, and an even higher figure is forecast for the 2023 event. Following an established and successful formula, The Maritime Standard Tanker Conference takes place the day after the market leading TMS Awards, to maximise attendance and ensure high profile participants.

The Maritime Standard Tanker Conference 2022, which took place on November 16th at The Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai, featured a packed programme of expert presentations and lively panel discussions. The event was structured around the theme “Reshaping the Market – Tanker Shipping Post-pandemic.” The opening session, on ‘Recalibrating tanker shipping after the pandemic’ was led off by a keynote speech from Capt. Abdulkareem Al Masabi, CEO of ADNOC Logistics and Services. Other speakers in this session, which set the tone for the day-long proceedings, included Dr. Ibrahim Al Nadhairi, CEO of ASYAD Shipping & Drydock Services; Essam Khoori, Executive Director, DP World; Nikos Michas, Global Tanker Segment Director, Lloyd’s Register; Navin Kumar, Director Maritime Research, Drewry Shipping Consultants; and Friedrich Portner, Chief Commercial Officer, Maritime Cluster, AD Ports Group.

Session 2, chaired by Nijoe Joseph, Partner, Stephenson Harwood, looked at how tanker shipping is facing up to environmental challenges. A lively and wide ranging session featured papers from Pawan Sahni, Business Development Director, DNV; Simon Bonnet, Chief Maritime Officer, IRI/The Marshall Islands Registry; Anders Ostergaard, Group CEO, Monjasa; Chris Peters, CEO, Tristar Maritime Logistics; Rajiv Agarwal, Operating Partner (Infrastructure) Essar & Managing Director, Essar Ports; and Franck Kayser, Chief Operating Officer of ASYAD Shipping Company. They were joined as a panellist by Amir Mosadeghi, CEO, Islamic P&I Club.
The final session, on support services and how they can help shape the future of tanker shipping, was moderated by Ali Shehab, Global Director of Special Projects and Services, DNV, panellists included Meera Kumar, President and CEO of Diablo Global; Katherine Yakunchenkova, General Manager, Al Safina Security; Jamil Al Ali, Head of Regional and Commercial Development, Middle East, Bureau Veritas; Vishavdeep Gautam, CEO, Fast Freight DMCC and Ramee Rashid, Director, Seamaster Maritime.
The TMS Tanker Conference 2022 was a really stimulating and thought provoking conference that was very upbeat in its assessment of the market. The presentations were all well-researched and well-received by attendees.
A similarly experienced, high quality and knowledgeable panel of speakers is being assembled for the TMS Tanker Conference 2023. The aim is to build further on its established track record for being the best specialist event focussing on this sector of the shipping business anywhere in the world.