The biennial Asia Pacific Maritime (APM), Southeast Asia’s maritime, workboat and offshore exhibition and conference will hold its 17th edition at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore from 16 - 18 March this year. Supported by the Maritime Port Authority and Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau, APM returns as the first large-scale maritime trade event serving the industry community in Southeast Asia. It will feature six official pavilions with some 7,000 attendees expected to attend the event in-person. The last in-person event was held in 2018.

“We’re excited that the industry is reconnecting again. Meeting face-to-face is exceptionally essential for maritime professionals and the resumption of APM 2022 provides a perfect platform for the community to pick up conversations again,” said Yeow Hui Leng, Group Project Director, RX, the organiser of APM. “While digitalisation has evolved at a rapid speed due to the pandemic, it can’t replace the human touch, the joy of spontaneous face-to-face discussions, or the ability to demo or touch and feel the products on display. Such interactions can facilitate closing of deals and drive industry growth,” she added.

APM 2022 will adopt contactless technologies to provide a safe environment for all attendees.  In addition, all attendees will be required to undergo daily onsite complimentary pre-event testing (PET) which can return results within 15 minutes. Other prevailing safe management measures such as full vaccination will also be implemented to ensure a healthy APM.

Strong Global Representation

APM 2022 will set the stage for the first major maritime in-person exhibition to connect international suppliers with buyers from the Southeast Asia region, allowing exhibitors to better engage with their target audience and achieve the engagement which was lacking in the last two years.  Prior to this, the organiser, RX, has successfully wrapped up the largest maritime in-person tradeshow in South Korea last October.  APM 2022 is also one of the two Approved International Fair (AIF) events confirmed to-date for this year, affirming its significance to Singapore’s tradeshow and maritime industries. 

Exhibiting companies including well-known companies like ZF, Weichai, Volvo, MTU, Garmin, Inmarsat, Kohler, KVH and Marlink will be using APM 2022 as the place to showcase their latest innovations, products, and services. The six official pavilions are from Germany, Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, United Kingdom and Taiwan.

Exhibitors or trade visitors who are not able to travel to Singapore can participate in the online business matching programme to stay connected.   

Shaping the Future of Maritime Industry

APM 2022 conference, which is complimentary for attendees but subject to onsite seat availability, will allow in-depth discussions on issues impacting the maritime landscape, enabling attendees to learn and network in-person. It comprises three forums, namely Asia Container Shipping, Maritime Cyber Security and Maritime Technology and Sustainability, with 15 conference sessions in total. 

45 maritime executives will be physically present to share their expertise and views on some of the most important issues affecting the industry. Speakers include:

·          Kenneth Lim, Assistant Chief Executive (Industry), Maritime Port Authority

·          Thomas Cassuto, Managing Director of CMA CGM APAC

·          Claus Nehmzow, Innovation Advisor and ex-Chief Innovation Officer at Eastern Pacific Shipping

·          Peter Schellenberger, Vice President, Supply Chain, Thome Ship Management

·          Dr Shahrin Osman, Director, Maritime Decarbonisation and Autonomy Centre of Excellence, DNV

·          Tan Cheng Peng, Executive Director, Singapore Maritime Institute

Key maritime associations such as Intertanko, Methanol Institute, IBIA, IMarEST and the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation will also join the conference sessions. 

The Asia Container Shipping Forum with the theme, “Charting the Growth for the Next Decade” will take place on Day 1, 16 March 2022. Thought leaders including Khorsehd Alam, Managing Director, The Viswa Group and Jayendu Krishna, Director/Deputy Head, Drewry Maritime Advisors, will offer viewpoints on current and future logistic challenges of the container industry, providing attendees with the latest insights like how the industry will evolve in the next decade as well how technology and automation will drive the development of next-generation ports.

Kenneth Lim, Assistant Chief Executive (Industry), Maritime Port Authority who will be speaking at the Leadership Forum on the topic, “Building an apocalypse-proof industry – How container shipping will evolve in the next decade?”, said, “As a leading maritime city and maritime technology (MarineTech) hub, Singapore welcomes APM 2022 in providing networking opportunities as well as sharing of insights and expertise within the maritime industry. The maritime sector continues to be resilient amidst an immensely challenging climate. With the pace of industry transformation picking up, there are rapid innovation and technological progress in the past few years. We look forward to this year’s conference to share with APM’s audience how the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore is accelerating decarbonisation and digitalisation initiatives to establish Singapore as a leading global MarineTech Hub.”

Claus Nehmzow, Innovation Advisor and ex-Chief Innovation Officer at Eastern Pacific Shipping, who will also be speaking at the Leadership Forum, commented, “It is good to meet up with industry peers and colleagues. APM 2022 provides a platform to make new connections and build relationships, while learning from one another on how we can collectively address the challenges of our industry. APM 2022 also shows the resilience of Singapore as a location where people can finally get together again. Singapore’s high vaccination rate has made it possible.”

COVID-19 pandemic has quickened the digitalisation efforts of the maritime industry. It has become increasingly important to safeguard the fleet, port, and business operations against current and emerging cyber threats to ensure operational continuity.  This will be addressed at the Maritime Cyber Security Forum Asia on Day 2, 17 March 2022. Themed “Bringing Maritime Cyber Security into the 21St Century”, subject matter experts including Nakul Malhotra, Vice-President, Open Innovation, Wilhelmsen Ships Service and Patric Desanti, VP, Head of Group IT & Digitalisation, BW-Group will share and discuss the latest trends in cyber threats within maritime domain and explore solutions on how to counter this potentially 21st century security challenge. 

Eddie Toh, Partner and Head of Forensic Technology, KPMG Asia Pacific said, “The future of maritime will see mega ships powered by green and data-driven technologies, such as dual fuel propulsion engines. This brings huge opportunities but also many potential security vulnerabilities hailing from sensors, vessel management to communication systems. KPMG in Singapore welcomes partnering APM 2022 to drive insights and knowledge exchange with the industry on maritime cyber security issues. Ultimately, leaders won’t just need to understand the technology risks that could cripple operations, but also strategies that can be employed to quickly bounce back so that business and lives are not at stake.”

On Day 3, 18 March 2022, the Maritime Technology and Sustainability Forum will convene on issues of sustainability, better connectivity, and digitalisation in the post COVID-19 world. The theme for this forum is “Achieving Sustainability Through Innovation” with discussions focusing on how to harness technologies to create an even more efficient, sustainable, and safer industry going forward. Speakers include Thomas Cassuto, Managing Director, CMA CGM APAC, Sanjeev Namath, CBO, Alpha-Ori, Punit Oza, Director, Klaveness Asia, Dr Sanjay Kuttan, CTO, Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation and Elfian Harun, Regional Manager Southeast Asia and Environment Manager, INTERTANKO. 

Dr Sanjay Chittarajan Kuttan, Chief Technology Officer, Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation said, “I hope to experience a more positive energy from the maritime ecosystem around efforts to decarbonise the maritime industry. Decarbonisation of the maritime sector has many challenges around the mass adoption of low carbon solutions. Every party from vessel owners to ports and service providers must be equally ready to provide low carbon fuels and adopt low carbon technology. Manpower training for both sea and shore-based staff is also vital. However, time is not on our side, and we will need all hands on deck to achieve a sustainable maritime economy.”

Chris Chatterton, Chief Operating Officer, Methanol Institute, said, “Our main goal for attending APM 2022 is to reconnect with markets after such a long spell of limited personal interactions. The return of APM sends a strong signal to the market that we are working towards a brighter, if not even more challenging, future together, where collaboration and innovation will be paramount to success. For instance, in the area of decarbonisation, the Methanol Institute is at the forefront of pushing for cleaner fuels. Transiting to lower carbon fuels is only possible if the industry community works together.”