HÀ NỘI — A delegation of Việt Nam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) is participating in Sea Asia 2017, the region’s anchor maritime exhibition and leading forum for analysis and debate on key issues facing the industry.

This is the first time Vinalines has joined in the three-day event and its relevant seminars, which are organised by Seatrade and Singapore Maritime Foundation in Singapore from Tuesday to Thursday.

The exhibition covers 22,000 booths of more than 420 maritime companies and groups from countries such as Singapore, China, Japan and South Korea, as well as UAE, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Norway.

Addressing the exhibition, Lê Quang Trung, head of Vinalines’ market development department, said Sea Asia was a large and prestigious event in the Asia-Pacific region, where Vinalines expected to introduce its potential capacity and advantages in transportation and maritime service to customers and seek partners when it was planning to conduct equitisation.

Trung said Vinalines currently owned a fleet of ships with the total capacity of more than two million tonnes, occupying 25 per cent of Việt Nam’s total capacity. The fleet was qualified to meet the demand of goods owners, contributing to expanding trade between Việt Nam and other countries and territories.

Vinalines is managing and operating 15 sea ports in Việt Nam, or 23.53 per cent of the country’s total ports.

Speaking at the opening ceremony on Tuesday, Seatrade chairman Chris Hayman said current developments in the industry, such as the challenging offshore and marine sector and the implications of smart shipping, would also form a significant part of discussions at Sea Asia 2017.

“These trends are impacting the industry in more ways than one. The move towards smart shipping and data analytics, for example, provides opportunities for industry players to potentially cut costs and enhance productivity. At the same time, there is a need to think about the talent and skills needed in this area."

“Sea Asia 2017 will provide that critical and established platform for industry leaders from around the world to come together and share their thoughts on the current developments and how the industry can navigate challenges together moving forward,” Hayman said.

Other topics that will be discussed at the Sea Asia 2017 conferences include the importance of technical change and innovation for the industry, the future of freight markets and the opportunity for ship finance against the backdrop of a challenging market environment and more demanding regulatory framework. — VNS