Conference Programme 2019

Event Overview

The fourth annual The Maritime Standard Tanker Conference will take place on Tuesday 22nd October at Atlantis, the Palm, Dubai. The first three events have been both extraordinarily successful and popular, raising the profile of the tanker shipping business regionally and globally. The selection of a larger venue in 2018 paid off with a much-increased delegate attendance and an even bigger audience is anticipated this year. Already established as one of the leading events on the tanker shipping calendar, the Conference is aimed at key decision makers and high-level policy takers within the tanker shipping business. This year’s event takes place at a time of considerable volatility and uncertainty within the tanker shipping business. While some of the market fundamentals appear positive, there are significant challenges posed by the political-economic context, as well as the imposition of new environmental rules. The Conference will focus on key market trends in the crude, products, chemicals and gas tanker markets, giving attendees a unique insight into the opportunities that exist and how to capitalise on them. It will also assess ancillary sectors, such as the bunker supply, law, ship agency and supplies, and petrochemicals trades. The event is a must-attend, not only for tanker owners and operators, but all companies that provide products and services to this sector of the shipping industry. The intention is that attendees will leave the TMS Tanker Conference with a much clearer idea about future trade patterns, and market influences, so they are better placed to build the foundations for longer term business growth.

Tuesday 22nd October 2019

Conference Programme Outline

08:30

Registration and welcome refreshments

10:00

Welcome by

Clive Woodbridge
Conference Chairman & Editor, The Maritime Standard

10:05

Inaugural Address by

Trevor Pereira
Managing Director, The Maritime Standard

10:10

Keynote Address

Capt. Abdulkareem Al Masabi, CEO, ADNOC Logistics & Services
Ali Shehab, Acting CEO, Kuwait Oil Tanker Company
Abdulla Bin Damithan, CCO, DP World – UAE Region

10:50

Session 1: Tanker trades – how to adapt to fast moving market conditions?

Supply and demand – what will be the impact of slowing global tanker fleet growth?
Opportunities, and challenges shaping regional trade prospects in the Middle East region in the short and medium term
How can tanker service providers help support national economic strategies for the future?
Trade wars and sanctions – the steps tanker operators must take to chart a safe course through difficult political waters.
Can Big Data and digitalisation drive improved tanker market performance?
Product and chemical tanker operations- reasons to be optimistic.
M&A activity- can industry rationalisation provide a solution to market instability?
Indian economic growth – is this the new frontier for the tanker market?

Speakers:

Capt. Abdulkareem Al Masabi
CEO,
ADNOC Logistics & Services

Ali Shehab
Acting CEO,
Kuwait Oil Tanker Company

Matthieu de Tugny
Executive Vice-President, Marine & Offshore Division,
Bureau Veritas Group

Michael Jorgenson
Acting CEO,
Oman Shipping Company

Petros Doukas
Former Deputy Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs,
Greece

Jesper Kjaedegaard
Senior Advisor- Board Member,
Marcura Group

Capt. Anoop Kumar Sharma
Chairman & MD,
The Shipping Corporation of India

12:30

Panel Discussion/Question & Answer Session

12:45

Lunch

13:45

Session 2: Adapting support infrastructure and services to ensure market success

What investments in tanker repair, maintenance and conversion services are needed to support regional growth?
Shipbuilding – an assessment of the types and sizes of tanker that will be ordered over the next few years and the impact on the market.
How can oil terminal operating efficiencies be enhanced while ensuring tanker storage capacity keeps pace with demand?
Bunker demand – the impact of scrubbers, and low sulphur fuel availability, on tanker shipping requirements.
Developing the right ship management and chartering tools.
Maritime training and education – what does the industry require to ensure it is future proof?
Port facilities – investing to meet the requirements of emerging markets.

Speakers:

Anders Østergaard
Group CEO,
Monjasa

Capt. Mohamed Al Ali
Senior Vice President, Ship Management
ADNOC Logistics & Services

Rajiv Agarwal
CEO & MD,
Essar Ports

Haitham Nasser Said Al Taie
General Manager-Finance & Corporate Support,
Oman Drydock Company

Eng. Waleed Altamimi
General Manager,
Emirates Classification Society (Tasneef)

15:15

Panel Discussion/Question & Answer Session

15:30

Refreshment Break

15:45

Session 3 – Overcoming technical, legal and regulatory challenges

Scrubbers – is the open loop controversy damaging to environmental prospects?
Drones – the future for tanker inspections.
Shipyards and technology: Middle East and India becoming global centres for environmental retrofits.
Alternative fuels for the tankers of the future.
Keeping digitalisation and advanced technology at the heart of tanker safety.
Achieving sustainable scrapping and recycling
What will the new UAE Maritime law mean for the tanker industry?
Ballast water treatment – how can tanker operators bypass retrofit bottleneck fears?