(EnergyAsia, February 3 2010, Wednesday) --- More than 100 government officials, international executives, technical directors and maritime industry leaders attended the International Maritime and Shipbuilding Outlook Summit China 2010 was held last January 14-15 in the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin.

Organised by business conference and professional training provider Noppen Shanghai Co Ltd and supported by the Tianjin People’s Municipal Government, the event was part of the city’s efforts to create an international shipping centre to serve northeastern, central and western Asia. For two days, the delegates networked and exchanged information on the latest issues facing the shipping and shipbuilding industries.

The Port of Tianjin is strategically located at the locus of Bohai Bay Rim, the logistics hub of the Tianjin Binhai New District, which is designated by the central government to become China’s third major economic growth driver after Shenzen and Shanghai. The port is expected to handle the most advanced container ships, bulkers, and ocean liners by mid-2010.

Ren Xuefeng, vice-mayor of Tianjin, welcomed the summit’s participants and encouraged them to strengthen their business relationships with Tianjin.

Opening the event was Zhao Shangwu, director general of Tianjin Municipal Office of Port Service, who provided an introduction to Tianjin as well as north China’s shipbuilding industry outlook.

Discussing dry cargo bulk markets, Philip Williams, Asia-Pacific general manager of The Baltic Exchange, likened the present oversupply of ships to the post WWII shipping market, explaining that this will even itself out in time.

Michael Yuen, general manager of IMC Pan Asia, spoke on the shipping markets, pointing out the industry will always have its ‘peaks and troughs’ which we just need to ride out. Discussing Chinese industrial development policies and a forecast of the shipping market was Sun Wei, vice researcher at Integrated Transportation Research Center, NDRC.

Jean Philippe Roman, technical director at Total Lubmarine, provided an overview of Total lubricants’ environmental contribution in the shipping industry, while Chen Jiaben, director of China Welding Association and secretary general of the National Shipbuilding Industry spoke on the development and innovation of welding technology shipbuilding in China.

Shi Renming, managing director at ESAB, presented a paper on cutting machine applications in shipyards, while Lin Xiandong, executive deputy secretary general of The Chinese Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineering, discussed technical advances in the shipbuilding industry.

The event also heard Mao Boke, vice secretary general of Shanghai International Shipping Institute, Li Zhonggang, deputy general manager of China Ship Design & Research Center Co Ltd, and Philipho Yuan, director of Asian sales at The Maritime Executive. Other topics discussed included the use of digital shipbuilding technology in ship construction, energy-saving and emission-reduction technologies, and the outlook for the shipping industry for 2010.