News: Countdown officially starts to London International Shipping Week 2017

The countdown to London International Shipping Week 2017 (LISW17) officially began last night with an exclusive launch reception held at the iconic Norton Rose Fulbright building on London's South Bank.

The launch reception brought together representatives from many of the maritime world's leading organisations and figures from UK Government to learn of the aspirations, plans and exciting opportunities that LISW17 will deliver between September 11-15, next year.

Addressing the 130 invited guests, Jeremy Penn, Chief Executive at the Baltic Exchange and Chairman of the LISW17 Steering Group, proudly acknowledged that London International Shipping Week had firmly established itself as a major event in the world's maritime calendar. He said LISW17 would build upon the significant successes achieved by the 2015 and 2013 events.

Mr Penn went on to officially announce the themes for the 2017 week. Under an overarching theme of 'Tomorrow's Maritime World', LISW17 will explore five key topics: Tomorrow's Prosperity, Tomorrow's Industry Professionals, Tomorrow's Business Solutions, Tomorrow's Environment and Tomorrow's Partnerships. These themes will run throughout the week, culminating in high level debate at the prestigious LISW17 Conference which will take place at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane on Thursday 14th September, 2017.

These forward-leaning themes will give the industry a platform for announcing, discussing and debating important issues and opportunities for the future of shipping; as well as generating genuine thought-leadership and innovation through the 160 or so LISW17 events expected to be held during the week.

Representing the UK Government, John Hayes, Minister of State at the Department for Transport and Shipping and Ports Minister, said: "London International Shipping Week's importance to the industry is unquestioned, bringing together maritime leaders from across the world to look at the challenges and opportunities facing the sector. I'm proud the Government is once again involved, we look forward to working closely together and delivering an innovative and high profile week of events in 2017."

David Dingle, Chairman of promotional body Maritime UK, said: "LISW is a fantastic global platform to showcase the UK as a world-class maritime centre. We look forward to welcoming leading industry figures from across the world to LISW 2017."

Focusing on the theme of Tomorrow's Business Solutions, LISW17 Diamond Sponsor, Inmarsat welcomed the launch of the run up to next year's event.

Inmarsat CEO Rupert Pearce said: "Our new Fleet Xpress service is helping to digitally transform the shipping industry by providing a platform for creating new business applications that will truly enhance operational efficiency and secure networks from cyber threats. We are looking forward to some interesting debate and idea-sharing amongst industry leaders during the Inmarsat-hosted digital disruption and cyber security events at LISW17."

For more information about LISW17 or to find out how to register please visit www.londoninternationalshippingweek.com or download the LISW17 app by searching for LISW at the Google Play Store or London International Shipping Week at the App Store.

LISW17 is aiming even higher.  See the sponsorship opportunities and visit the LISW website. For more information on LISW17 please click here.