Europort 2013 Retrospect: +29,000 Visitors Logged
Organiser Ahoy backed up its claim for Europort as ‘connecting the maritime world’ by logging attendance by 29,355 visitors from 84 countries, with trade missions present from China, Russia and Brazil, among others. With 1,062 exhibitor companies, Europort 2013 played host to a record number of 16 country pavilions.
A Future Pioneers Award provided a fitting finale on the closing day of Europort 2013, Friday 8 November in Rotterdam, as four students from the HZ University of Applied Sciences were recognised for engineering ingenuity that also offers environmentally-friendly solutions to the real world. The award went to "Hydrogen, LNG or Diesel? How to meet the new Marpol NOx Tier III requirements for a second-hand engine".
The honour echoed sentiments expressed at Europort’s opening address by Melanie Schultz van Haegen, Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment of the Netherlands. Acknowledging a global shortage of seagoing and technical personnel, she said: “Human capital is our most important resource…We must do everything we can to attract talented young people.”
The desire for concerted action was also highlighted by full attendance at Europort 2013’s Advanced Technology Conferences. Leo Maas, of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research said: “A combined effort of science and the industry is needed to succeed in this growing market,” after his presentation “Ocean Dynamics in the Deep”.
From the exhibition floor, Craig Carter, Director of Marketing of Canadian company Thordon Bearings noted the “international flavour” of Europort 2013. As a first time exhibitor, Mr Carter was “pleased but surprised” to see existing customers from Saudi Arabia and Canada in attendance.
Europort 2013 Exhibition Manager Raymond Siliakus summed up: “It has certainly been a busy week, but it has also been rewarding to see the planning and effort put into Europort 2013 coming to fruition. We are already well underway with Europort Romania, Constanta in May (13-15) 2014, while Europort Istanbul will take place from 18 - 21 March 2015, but we also look forward to welcoming visitors to Europort 2015 (3-6 November) in our ‘home’ port of Rotterdam.”