The Maritime Standard has decided to move this year's TMS Tanker Conference to The Atlantis, Dubai, UAE, in order to accommodate increased demand for delegate places.

The one-day event will take place on October 16, the day after the hugely popular TMS Awards gala dinner, at this iconic, high quality venue on The Palm, Jumeirah, said a statement.

Trevor Pereira, managing director, said: “We have decided to move to a bigger venue that has around twice the capacity, to make sure we can meet growing demand from the market.”

“What started out as a niche regional event now covers a much wider portfolio of tanker trades, and companies supporting those trades, taking it to a new level,” he said.

“There is more reason for delegates to attend and the new venue better matches the Tanker Conference's enhanced profile,” he added.

The third annual conference will be held under the theme "Getting the most out of more positive markets”.

There are some cautiously optimistic signs that the tanker trades are in recovery mode, and delegates will hear from a host of top quality speakers and panellists, with expertise in different aspects of the tanker shipping market, to help signpost the way forward and ensure that no opportunities are missed, it said.

Keynote speakers will focus on overall regional and global trade patterns and service initiatives, as well as market challenges. In addition there will be presentations looking at many other aspects of the tanker business, including environmental protection, ship management, finance, crewing, security and digitalisation, it added.

The opening keynote session will set the tone for the event and will feature insightful presentations from two global and regional heavyweights in the tanker shipping industry. Session one, in the morning, will include papers from senior executives in the fields of ship owning, operations and management, as well as shipbroking and finance, said a statement.

Collectively these will make the case that greater optimism about the future of the tanker shipping industry is justified, although significant hurdles remain to be overcome.

In the afternoon, session 2 will focus on support infrastructure and services and how these can provide a solid regional platform for regional tanker shipping development. This will be followed by session 3, during which speakers will seek to address the safety, security and environmental issues facing the tanker sector and how these can best be overcome, it said.

This will be followed by the always popular networking reception at which attendees and speakers will get a chance to discuss the market in an informal and relaxed setting.

Benefitting from the fact that it is held in the same location and in close proximity to TMS Awards, the conference is sure to attract many senior executives from all of the region's leading tanker owners and operators, as well as global players.

The event is firmly established as a key event for the trade, combining top quality speakers and senior executive participants from different segments, to create unrivalled learning and networking opportunities.

Clive Woodbridge, conference editor, said: “The feedback from last year's event was extremely favourable and we aim to build further on that success.”

“We are looking to attract some of the biggest names in the industry to speak this year, so watch this space for more details,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service