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EUROPORT '91 25th International Maritime Exhibition 7th International Inland Shipping Exhibition Scheduled For November 12-16 In Amsterdam When the first Europort exhibi-tion opened its doors 29 years ago, the event marked the re-alization of the creation of an exclusive platform and forum for use by the mari- time industry, situated in the world's largest port, Rotterdam, and supported by a committee of elected members representing a wide range of marine equipment manufacturers and ser- vices. This year's Europort '91 is the 25th International Maritime Exhibition in a series of successful five-day shows. It incorporates the International Inland Shipping Exhibition for the seventh time—this year's theme is "Under Full Power." Held once every two years, the Europort exhibition incorporates dis- plays showing products and services connected with shipbuilding, fitting out, repair and maintenance, port and dock equipment, communication and navigation equipment, loading/unload- ing equipment, information, consultancy and design offices, financ- ing and insurance, ships' chandlery, oceanology, fishing, inland navigation, hydraulic engineering contracting, etc. The exhibition will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, November 12 to Saturday, November 16, except Thursday, No- vember 14, when it will open at 10 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. Almost 500 exhibitors from 21 coun- tries are expected to display their products and services in the seven exhibition halls covering 46,000 square meters. 2nd World Shipping Conference Held In Conjunction To coincide with the start of the Europort Exhibition in Amsterdam on November 12, the Financial Times Conference Organization will stage its World Shipping Conference at the RAI International Congress Center in Amsterdam. This will be the second major conference on world shipping that the Financial Times has presented in Amsterdam. The first FT confer- ence event was held in association with Europort '89. The conference program of World Shipping 91 will follow the same successful formula of the previous FT conference in 1989. Leading figures from the world shipping industry will be invited to discuss current and future economic trends within the industry and to analyze the impact of technical developments on international ship operation and on shipping companies around the world. Dredging Conference On November 13 and 14, the Central Dredg- ing Association (CEDA) and Permanent Inter- national Association of Navigation Congresses (PIANC) will hold a conference called "Acces- sible Harbors." Papers presented during the two-day conference will concern maintaining or improving the accessibility of harbors, while at the same time avoiding impeding the free flow of traffic within the ports and their approaches. The five sessions will cover different aspects of this theme, aiming to show proposed or actual solutions based on construction techniques, the design and dredging of access channels, the effects of dredging and navigation on erosion and turbidity and the prediction and solution of situation problems. Papers will cover cost effec- tiveness, equipment automation and instru- mentation, positioning and environmental con- siderations related to the theme. Other events taking place on November 14 at Europort include the annual meeting of the Netherlands Shipbuilding Industry Association (open to members only), the Maritime Technol- ogy Meeting Day, organized by the Netherlands Association of Shipping Engineers, and the an- nual meeting of the Royal Netherlands Ship- owners' Association (open to members only). Also beginning on November 14 and continuing on November 15 will be "Motor 2000," organized by the Association of Importers of Combustion Engines, Holland Shipbuilding and RAI Gebouw bv, focusing on engines and related products. Europort was launched in Rotterdam, the world's largest port, as an annual event, provid- ing a stage for the Netherlands maritime indus- try from which it could present itself to custom- ers from all over the world. The initiative proved an immediate success and managed to attract substantial attention and interest from the maritime industry. Initially, the event was primarily supported by the Netherlands and neighboring countries, but soon after the first exhibition, the international element partici- pating in the event rapidly increased in impor- tance. The formula of a dedicated exhibition and a con- gress running concurrently presents the opportunity to exchange ideas and immediately compare notes correlating between theory and practice. This year's congress, designated "World Shipping 91," was orga- nized by the Financial Times. When the Rotterdam exhibition facilities began to restrict Europort's natural growth and out- side exhibition space was filled to capacity, the event was moved to Amsterdam's International Exhi- bition and Congress Center RAI, which since then, has been its pied- a-terre. Amsterdam, even more so than Rotterdam, provides exhibi- tors, vistors and delegates with a near unlimited choice of hotel ac- commodations, and short lines of communication and transportation, as motorways, railroad lines and Amsterdam's international airport, Schipol, are only minutes away from the RAI. Soon Europort resumed its growth supported by RAI logis- tics and it did not come as a sur- prise when RAI itself took over the Europort organization in 1983 from event founder Allen Johnson Since the inception of Europort, the marine industry has experi- enced a substantial amount of tech- nological growth and sophistica- tion such as the introduction of sectional building and the use of new materials, the birth of the low profile ship, the medium-speed and low-speed diesel engine, and the revival of sailing power, the introduction of innovative maintenance pro- grams, and the introduction of self-polishing anti- foulings to extend periods between dry dockings. Many of these and other technological innova- tions were topics of discussion at Europort before their introduction in the marine sector. Since the first Europort in 1962, a radical evolution has taken place in the training and education of ships' officers, especially in the Neth- erlands. From the simple master/mate/engineer concept, the new maritime officer of today, a veritable Jack-of-all-trades, has been born. Al- though educational changes are mostly prepared within the confines of universities and polytechnical institutes, information emanating from events such as Europort often contributes to such preparations and at the same time tries, with varying degrees of success, to ensure that the industry can in the end employ the products of education without spending too much time on reeducation and practical training. Europort has been a consistent platform from where new initiatives and impulses have been and are being launched, existing activities are discussed and refined and products are shown to the public in static or dynamic displays. Europort is a showcase for products new and old, a yardstick for the industry's health and resilience and the interface between the world of maritime science and the world of trade and commerce. Discussions during and after Congressional sessions stand at the cradle of many initiatives which enabled the industry to cope with the need to cut capacity while at the same time efficiency had to be increased to be able to remain competi- tive and introduce Quality Assurance programs. For further information on Europort 91, con- tact: RAI Gebouw bv, Europaplein, 1078 GZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands; telephone: +31 (0) 20 549 12 12; fax: +31 (0) 20 (6) 46 44 69. October, 1991 29
