IAPH president and managing director meet ports at CTL BHP Maritime Event as part of wider regional initiative to engage with the Indian Subcontinent
Following the recently-announced membership of New Mangalore Port Authority together together six new Associate Members from India joining IAPH in the last year, both IAPH president Capt. K. Subramaniam and managing director Dr Patrick Verhoeven are currently visiting the leading international CTL - BHP Cargo Show. This combines the Cargo, Transport and Logistics (CTL) with Breakbulk , Heavy Lift and Project Cargo Forwarding (BHL) exhibitions under one roof in the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, India.
Commenting on the visit in his regular IAPH Insider newsletter videolog, Patrick Verhoeven commented : “We have come here to reconnect with old and new members. We hear also the big challenges which the port communities are facing here. Some of them are very similar to what world ports are confronted with, others are more specific to the governance of the continent. Our Regional Representative Ennarasu Karunesan has done a great job in bringing the Indian port community closer to IAPH.”
IAPH president Capt. K. Subramaniam was invited yesterday by the organisers EXIM India to make a keynote speech at the inauguration of the event. During the speech he commented on the need for ports to take a more proactive role in their communities : “Port authorities will have to think increasingly in network terms. The time that a local port authority was strong enough on its own to face the world has gone, given the consolidation that has taken place around us. Cooperation, especially at regional level, is a prerequisite to make a difference, regardless of whether we speak about resilience, digitalisation or decarbonisation.”
Ennarasu Karunesan has spoken today at the inaugural session of day two of CTL and Patrick Verhoeven is attending a panel session of the conference to offer his insights on sustainablity and growth trends in containerised cargo. Further high level meetings with ports and an associate member are planned this week.
News release contact : Victor Shieh - IAPH Communications Director
Email : victor.shieh@iaphworldports.org
About IAPH
Founded in 1955, the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has developed into a global alliance of 169 port authorities as well as 134 port-related businesses. Comprised of 87 different nationalities across the world’s continents, member ports handle approximately one third of the world’s sea-borne trade and well over 60% of the world container traffic. IAPH leads global port industry initiatives on decarbonization and energy transition, risk and resilience management, and accelerating digitalization in the maritime transport chain. Its World Ports Sustainability Program has grown into the reference database of best practices of ports applying the UN Sustainable Development Goals and integrating them into their businesses.