London welcomes international maritime world

The world’s shipping industry will converge on London this week for London International Shipping Week (LISW15 7 to 11 September) to herald the city’s position as the world’s leading maritime services centre.

More than 100 events, ranging from flagship conferences and industry seminars to board meetings and receptions, will be attended by delegates from at least 50 countries. Events throughout the week will amount to more than 300 hours of discussions.

The Princess Royal is Patron of this year’s London International Shipping Week, the second running of this ground-breaking week of events designed to celebrate London’s key role at the centre of the shipping industry and highlight the maritime sector’s vital contribution to the UK economy.

She will attend a welcome reception hosted by the Government at Lancaster House which will be attended by 350 international ambassadors, shipping industry leaders and VIP guests.

LISW15 will officially open on Monday with the ringing of the Stock Exchange bell. This will be followed by a Round Table Summit of maritime leaders at 10 Downing Street, hosted by the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin MP. The Department for Transport will unveil its keenly-awaited Maritime Growth Strategy ahead of a meeting of the Transport Select Committee later in the day.

Also on Monday the UK Chamber of Shipping will hold a short conference to consider the forthcoming EU referendum and its impact on maritime services and wider business. And on Wednesday afternoon the International Chamber of Shipping will discuss the Rescue at Sea crisis which has seen merchant vessels saving thousands of lives in the Mediterranean.

The importance of the maritime sector in the UK’s overseas economic policies and international relationships will be highlighted and reinforced by a Government reception, jointly hosted by the Secretary of State for Transport and the Ministry of Defence, on board the The Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship RFA Argus which will be moored on the Thames at Greenwich for the duration of LISW15. 

The Argus serves as a Primary Casualty Receiving Ship (PCRS) and has recently returned from deployment to Sierra Leone where her 100-bed medical complex was used to help support the fight against Ebola. Argus deployed to Sierra Leone from Falmouth in October 2014 to provide aviation and amphibious support and medical capability to the Department for International Development, returning in April this year.

Landing on RFA Argus prior to the reception will be a brand new Agusta Westland AW189 helicopter, the latest addition to the Maritime Coastguard Agency’s fleet. This latest-generation, high performance, twin-engine helicopter will be operated on behalf of the MCA by UK helicopter transport specialist Bristow.

BBC Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis will moderate the official LISW15 flagship conference, taking place at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Thursday September 10. Keynote speakers include The Rt Hon Greg Hands MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury; Jeremy Penn, Chief Executive of The Baltic Exchange; Robert Goodwill MP, Minister for Shipping and Ports; Koji Sekimizu, Secretary-General, International Maritime Organization (IMO); Paul “Chip” Jaenichen, Administrator, United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) and Fotis Karamitsos, Acting Deputy Director General, Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG Move), European Commission.

The week will culminate in a glittering gala dinner in the Great Room at the Grosvenor House Hotel, attended by up to 900 top stakeholders from throughout the global shipping industry.

Five charities will benefit from a number of LISW15 events, including a charity golf day, gala dinner collection and dragon boat race. They are Apostleship of the Sea, OSCAR Campaign (Great Ormond Street Hospital), Sailors’ Society; Seafarers UK, and the Mission to Seafarers.