Industry heavyweights dust off their crystal balls for 8th TradeWinds Shipping China

Will the Dragon deliver?

Robert Lorenz-Meyer, immediate past president of BIMCO, also owner & managing partner of Ernst Russ will open the 8th TradeWinds Shipping China conference with his views on the current market situation and what he sees as possible strategies for survival in these challenging times. Other notable names in this opening session include new CCS president Sun Licheng, who has taken over from indsutry veteran Li Kejun - Sun will talk about the way forward for Chinese shipping and potential pitfalls. Remi Eriksen, newly promoted DNV CEO (Maritime and Oil & Gas) and Bjorn Hojgaard, new CEO of Univan Ship Management will also feature prominently in this session. 

Later in the day, seasoned lawyers familiar with representing both Chinese and international clients will engage in an interactive role-play session, re-enacting the controversial charter party disputes that have marred the last 12 months, moderated by a well-known Shanghai lawyer turned television personality. 

Wang Chun Lin of Pacific Basin will tackle the issue of the controversial Valemaxes, their possible impact on global trade and of course, on Chinese shipping interests. The organisers have also invited senior representatives from Vale, Dalian Port and BW Maritime to comment on the issue and will release news of their confirmation as appropriate. 

Highlights from Day 2 of the conference will include the hotly debated issue of the fate of Chinese shipyards - whether they are small yards started by "mickey mouse players" at the height of the boom or larger yards unable to secure orders down to yards that are forced into ownership of orphaned vessels. Simon Liang, the charismatic and frank CEO of Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group will ponder all these questions, as well as taking on CSSC President Tan Zuojun's recent comments about expecting "50% of Chinese shipyards to close over the course of the year". 

Other timely issues to be discussed include the state of technological innovation in Chinese shipping, what is going on in the ship finance sphere and whether the offshore sector is all it's hyped up to be. Vinay Patwardhan, Director of Group Planning & Development at Tai Chong Cheang Group (TCC), Vincent Li, Vice President & China Business Head of FutureShip (GL company) and Anil Deshpande, CEO of the Foresight Group are among some of the key names of the afternoon's sessions.