Marintec China 2023, the leading maritime barometer for technological development and trends, will take place in Shanghai from 5 – 8 December, a new chapter marking the beginning for the next four decades. It not only serves as a bridge and a comprehensive multi-level platform for the international maritime community, but also points the way to the future development of international maritime affairs.
Marintec China made its debut during the early stages of China's Reform and Opening-up period and has since been held in Shanghai at the end of odd-numbered years for 20 successful editions. With over 40 years of development, Marintec China has established itself as one of the most authoritative maritime exhibitions worldwide. Following a four-year break, Marintec China 2023 will return to the Shanghai New International Exhibition Center, and the global maritime industry has high anticipations and hopes to establish and strengthen cooperation with customers in China and Asia through participation in the event.
With the steady recovery of global maritime trade in the past two years, the global newbuilding market has shown a continuous improvement, and new ship orders have grown steadily. According to the latest statistics of the China Association of National Shipbuilding Industry, the global new ship orders were 75.99 million deadweight tons, from January to August 2023, a year-on-year increase of 37%. As of the end of August, the world's order books reached 244.08 million dwt, an increase of 14% year-on-year. While new ship orders increased, new ship prices continued to rise. The Clarkson New Ship Price Index for August 2023 was 173.55 points, up 0.7% month-on-month and 7.1% year-on-year. At the same time, China's shipbuilding industry has seized the opportunity and maintained a leading international market share. Statistics from the China Association of National Shipbuilding Industry show that the ships completed, new orders and order books of China's shipbuilding from January to August this year, accounted for 49.0%, 68.8% and 53.9% of the world market share in terms of deadweight tonnage respectively, ranking first in the world.
This provides good market conditions for the success of this year’s Marintec China. And against this backdrop, the Organising Committee of the event has been actively adapting its preparations to meet the high demand for participation. As a result, the Committee has decided to expand the event by adding a new exhibition Hall W1 to the existing Halls N1 – N3 and W2 – W5. And at the same time, the South Entrance Hall will be used as a secondary entrance to the exhibition to facilitate visitors entering the halls.
Halls N1-N3 are designated for international participation. As of 20 August, companies from 30 countries and regions have confirmed their participation, including 15 national and regional pavilions. The German Pavilion remains its status as the largest, followed by the Danish and the Norwegian Pavilions. Global industry leaders such as MAN, Wärtsilä, ABB, Accelleron, Siemens, Kongsberg, Rolls-Royce, MacGregor, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Tsuneishi and Ulstein continue to be prominent at the event. Where Halls W1 – W5 are designed for domestic participation, as the industry is advancing towards decarbonisation and digitalisation, many exhibitors this year are from the new energy and intelligent ship sectors.
According to the current sales data, this year's Marintec China is expected to be the largest ever. Various key exhibitors have expressed their intention to launch significant new products at the exhibition and numerous corporate executives will be present in Shanghai. Major industry associations, embassies and consulates based in China are also arranging concurrent business activities. The exhibition is expected to be the foremost maritime exhibition in Asia and the world in four years.
Over the past two years, the pace of decarbonisation in the global maritime industry has been accelerating, and "low-carbon" has become a prominent topic. The exhibition will showcase green and eco-friendly solutions including dual fuel ships, dual fuel engines, fuel cells, new energy batteries, marine LNG supply systems (FGSS), desulfurisation devices. With the continuous advancements of digitalisation and intelligence, intelligent ships will a key highlight of the exhibition.
Launched in 2017, “Marintec Innovation – Cruise” will continue to feature the "Marintec Cruise Interiors" this year. With the support of the Cruise and Yacht Branch of China Tourism Automobile and Cruise Association, the level of exhibits will be further enhanced, and the exhibition will also focus on showcasing the interior supply chain companies of China’s recent development. A dedicated area will showcase "Marintec Cruise Experience Zone", compassing different sections of the floating hotel, of which The Theatre will be an open forum for different exciting activities to further highlight the characteristics of the exhibition.
The theme of this year's Senior Maritime Forum held concurrently with the exhibition is "Innovation, Intelligence, Low-carbon” which adheres to innovation and is in line with the development progress of the current "decarbonisation" plan of the maritime industry. The Forum will be held from 4 to 7 December at the Kerry Hotel, Pudong, Shanghai, adjacent to the exhibition hall, and the Senior Maritime Forum will continue to retain the form of 5+1 sessions. Five are regular sessions, including "Ship and Offshore Engineering" "Shipping and Port" "Maritime Finance and Law", and "Marine Equipment Technology", and a special session of "Cruise" is added. Among which, the sessions of "Keynote Address" "Shipping and Port" and "Marine Equipment Technology" take "low-carbon" as the key topic, and invite industry authoritative experts, shipbuilding enterprises, supporting enterprises, scientific research institutes and other relevant parties to introduce the latest development trends, innovative technologies and equipment concerning green, energy-saving, low-carbon environmental protection in the current marine industry. The "Ship and Offshore Engineering" session focus on innovative design, intelligent manufacturing, and looks forward to the future development trend of intelligent ships. The "Maritime Finance and Law" session invites authoritative figures from the fields of financial institutions, legal institutions, law firms, exchanges, and universities to analyze in detail the current ship financing environment faced by the maritime industry and how to deal with legal disputes.
With the featured zone “Marintec Cruise Interiors” at the exhibition this year, Senior Maritime Forum will also have a special session focusing on Cruise. Although the global cruise industry is recovering rapidly, it still faces many uncertainties in the future due to the global economy and complicated geopolitics. In this context, the Organising Committee specially invited experts from the cruise industry chain to share their insights on construction, design, operation and supporting aspects of cruise ships.
Most of the speakers for the Senior Maritime Forum have now been confirmed, including:
- Mr. Roberto Cazzulo, Chair Elect, International Association of Classification Societies (IACS)
- Mr. Guy Platten, Secretary General, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS)
- Mr. Stephen Gordon, Managing Director, Clarksons Research
- Dr. Martin Stopford, Executive Director, Maritime Economics for Professionals
- Prof. Huang Zhen, Academician, Shanghai Jiaotong University
- Mr. John McDonald, President and Chief Operating Officer, ABS
- Mr. Ian Gaunt, Former President, London Maritime Arbitrators Association
In addition to the Senior Maritime Forum, the exhibition features a schedule of events including various forums, technical seminars, product launches, signing ceremonies, award ceremonies, and more. In addition, the inaugural "Pudong Shipping Week", hosted by the Pudong New Area Government, will feature a variety of activities including cultural and sporting events during the same week.
Meanwhile, this year’s exhibition will further enhance the strength of "informatisation". Currently, the pre-registration system has been launched, with the WeChat App and exhibition App scheduled to launch in November, and the online exhibitor manual will continue to play an important role.
The Organising Committee will send invitations to relevant industry organisations, government departments, universities, enterprises and institutions and encourage different units to form delegations. Additionally, the Committee will continue to organise around 200 professional visiting groups and tailor visiting routes for counterpart visits.
Overall, Marintec China 2023 will be an excellent opportunity for shipbuilding and offshore equipment industries and shipping service sector to display their comprehensive strength, enhance cooperations and improve brand images. These efforts will positively impact business and trade exchanges, as well as scientific and technological progress, making Marintec China 2023 a must attend industry event of the year.
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