Tanker shipping: Charting a course back to market stability
The sixth annual The Maritime Standard Tanker Conference will take place on 23rd November at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Last year TMS hosted a successful hybrid conference at the World Trade Centre in Dubai. The location and profile of this year’s event will be determined in accordance with the prevailing safety rules set by the UAE government. But whether in person or hybrid again TMS can confirm the Tanker Conference will definitely take place with details to be announced in the next few months as clarity and confidence returns following the global vaccination programme. The first five TMS Tanker events were all extremely successful in raising the profile of the business both regionally and globally. The Conference is consequently well established as one of the leading occasions on the tanker shipping calendar and is aimed at key decision makers and high-level policy takers within this sector of the shipping industry. This year’s event takes place following something of a roller coaster ride for the tanker shipping business with unexpected highs in the second quarter of 2020 followed by a lengthy period of extreme difficulty in many markets. Global oil and petrochemical demand levels are not expected to recover until late 2021 at the earliest time and maybe not until 2022. The impact of coronavirus and the knock-on effects on the global economy alongside ongoing political and trade tensions has affected prospects for tanker shipping in a way that few could ever have predicted. Nonetheless analysts believe that short term pain will lead eventually to significant longer term gains as market fundamentals rebalance. Ultimately there seems no reason why the rest of the 2020s should not be years of growth for the tanker shipping business. While the pandemic and its associated economic impact is the dominant factor facing the industry there are other issues too. The global battle against climate change has ushered in new rules and regulations which will continue to impact and challenge tanker shipping. Furthermore the acceleration of digitalisation and big data offer the opportunity to significantly lower operational costs for tanker shipping while the use of alternative fuels is gathering momentum. The safety security and health of crew has risen up the agenda and cybercrime is another topic of growing concern.
The 2021 Conference will focus on key short and long term market trends in the crude products chemicals and gas tanker markets and takes place at a critical moment. After a period of such volatility the emphasis is on how to bring the market back to stability and then growth as decisions taken now will have important and enduring effects. Consequently attendees at this year’s Conference will get a unique and privileged insight into the thinking and strategies of influential executives and key companies and organisations. While the top issues facing tanker ship owning and operating companies will be the main theme the event will also assess related support sectors such as classification bunker supply law ship agency and supplies ship technology logistics and terminal handling and storage. The event is a must-attend not only for tanker owners and operators but all companies that provide products and services to this vitally important sector of the shipping industry. The intention is that attendees will leave the TMS Tanker Conference with a much clearer idea about what the future holds and be better placed to take decisions that will facilitate longer term business recovery and growth.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Dubai World Trade Centre, Sheikh Zayed Rd - Trade CentreTrade Centre 2 - Dubai - United Arab Emirates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates