The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has cancelled the IAPH 2020 World Ports Conference, which was due to be held from March 17 to 19 in Antwerp, Belgium.
As informed, the event cancellation was prompted by coronavirus concerns.
“Given the spread of COVID-19 it has been necessary to cancel in the interests of the health & safety of speakers, sponsors and attendees. In addition, the recent increase in the number of speakers and participants impacted by immediate travel restrictions by their organizations influenced this decision,” IAPH said in a statement.
“We shall announce if it is feasible to postpone the event to another date in 2020 as soon as possible.”
“We are very sad about having to cancel the event. We took the joint decision out of concern for the well being of all our participants. This is not just about health and safety concerns around the coronavirus. It’s also about how comfortable all our guests, presenters and colleagues feel about attending the conference at this current point in time,” Santiago Garcia Milà, IAPH’s President, explained.
Held annually, the conference assesses the role of ports in global maritime trade and brings together key industry stakeholders for learning, information sharing, networking and collaboration.
This year’s conference is planned to explore the theme ‘Building transparency, predictability and trust’ across four streams, each based on urgent priorities collectively facing ports and their stakeholders in 2020 — energy transition, data collaboration, risk and reputation and business innovation.
Source: World Maritime News website
Further details from IAPH:
The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) regrets to announce the cancellation of the IAPH 2020 World Ports Conference, which was due to be held between 17-19 March in Antwerp, Belgium.
The difficult decision to cancel follows extensive consultation with organizer IHS Markit and Host Sponsor Port of Antwerp. Given the spread of COVID-19 it has been necessary to cancel in the interests of the health & safety of speakers, sponsors and attendees. In addition, the recent increase in the number of speakers and participants impacted by immediate travel restrictions by their organizations influenced this decision.
In recognition of the work that has gone into preparations for the event, other sponsors, speakers, colleagues and participants were also approached to share their views and opinions prior to the decision being made.
We shall announce if it is feasible to postpone the event to another date in 2020 as soon as possible and make arrangements for re-arranging or refunding registrations and sponsorships.
For the full announcement, please click here.
