The world of shipping gathers at the tiny island of Donsö in Sweden

More than 2 000 people gather on September 3-4 on the small island of Donsö outside Gothenburg, which usually hold a population of only 1 500. The visitors' common denominator is shipping and for two days the shipping elite of the world meet up to do business and talk about sustainable shipping.

The organizers of Donsö Shipping Meet are Jonas Backman, CEO, Sirius Shipping, and Dick Höglund, Senior Financial Adviser, Terntank. Together with the rest of Donsö, where approximately ten family-owned shipping companies operate, they have managed to build a meeting place that attracts visitors from countries such as China, USA and the Faroe Islands.

- We are very much looking forward to Donsö Shipping Meet 2019 and it is grateful that we can collect the international and national shipping. During the days we share experiences and there are many who spend countless of hours to create this event. The shipping industry transports 90 percent of world trade and approximately 100 000 people are employed in the sector in Sweden. Swedish shipping is a world leader in sustainable shipping and here we test new fuels such as LNG, LBG, methanol, batteries and wind. OECD have for instance mentioned Sweden as a best practice for green technology; perhaps that is why the rest of the world shows such great interest for these days, Dick Höglund, Senior Financial Adviser, Terntank, says.

- Real business deals are done during the days and it is one of the few fairs where you actually do this. After the last fair, almost 20 ships were delivered to Sweden and several of these orders originated from the Donsö Shipping Meet. At present, Swedish ship orders amount to 25 billion SEK. The goal is also that the surplus from the fair can be used for future generations. The Donsö Foundation, who owns the fair, distributes funds to projects for young people, children and the elderly, and for us it is important that we can give something back to society, Jonas Backman, CEO, Sirius Shipping, says.

During the days, speed-meetings are arranged between various actors, seminars are being held and a large banquet, where the famous Swedish singer Tommy Körberg performs, wrap up the first day.

- Donsö Shipping Meet is not just a fair, but also an international meeting place. We are very pleased that Cecilia Malmström, former EU Commissioner and Carl-Henric Svanberg, chairman of Volvo's board, are participating during the days. On September 2, we also start the fair with a focus on recruitment. Among other things, 3,000 young people from the western part of Sweden and the Swedish Minister for education Anna Ekström participates, which we are proud of, Ann-Sofie Ankarcrona, project manager for Donsö Shipping Meet, says.

Contact for questions:

Jonas Backman, Managing Director, Sirius Shipping, jonas.backman@siriusshipping.eu , +46 708 97 01 55

Dick Höglund, Senior Financial Adviser, Terntank, dick.hoglund@tarntank.com , +46 702 65 15 16

Ann-Sofie Ankarcrona, Project Manager, Donsö Shipping Meet, ann-sofie.ankarcrona@donsoshippingmeet.com, +46 768 94 69 58