World Ports Conference 2020 canceled due to COVID-19 fears

The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has canceled the IAPH 2020 World Ports Conference, which was due to be held from March 17 to 19 in Antwerp, Belgium, Report informs citing foreign media.

As informed, the event cancellation was prompted by coronavirus concerns.

“Given the spread of COVID-19, it has been necessary to cancel in the interests of the health & safety of speakers, sponsors, and attendees. In addition, the recent increase in the number of speakers and participants impacted by immediate travel restrictions by their organizations influenced this decision,” IAPH said in a statement.

“We shall announce if it is feasible to postpone the event to another date in 2020 as soon as possible.”

“We are very sad about having to cancel the event. We took the joint decision out of concern for the well being of all our participants. This is not just about health and safety concerns around the coronavirus. It’s also about how comfortable all our guests, presenters, and colleagues feel about attending the conference at this current point in time,” Santiago Garcia Milà, IAPH’s President, explained.

Held annually, the conference assesses the role of ports in global maritime trade and brings together key industry stakeholders for learning, information sharing, networking, and collaboration.

This year’s conference is planned to explore the theme ‘Building transparency, predictability and trust’ across four streams, each based on urgent priorities collectively facing ports and their stakeholders in 2020 — energy transition, data collaboration, risk and reputation, and business innovation.

The World Ports Conference was also held on May 9-10, 2020, in Baku.