Worldwide trade group celebrates 70 Years serving global maritime industry
LOS ANGELES – The Port of Los Angeles honoured the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) 70th anniversary last Monday, recognising the global ports organisation’s outstanding work for seven decades on critical issues facing ports around the world.
The IAPH milestone was celebrated on Monday evening at a Port of Los Angeles-sponsored networking event during the Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference (TPM25), organised by S&P Global, held this year at Long Beach Convention Center. TPM is an annual gathering of senior-level professionals in the global shipping and logistics industries.
Kicking off the Port’s networking event, Port Executive Director Gene Seroka presented a certificate of honour to IAPH Managing Director Patrick Verhoeven. Also in attendance was Consul General Kenko SONE, Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles.
In his remarks, Seroka noted the historical significance of the IAPH tribute. Los Angeles was the site of the first-ever IAPH conference at Los Angeles’ own Roosevelt Hotel in 1955, the result of a U.S.-Japan initiative to increase cooperation among ports around the world.
“It is my great honour to recognise IAPH for its remarkable global leadership and many achievements over the last seven decades,” said Seroka, who was elected in 2023 to serve as one of six volunteer IAPH vice presidents representing regions around the world. “It is also fitting that this recognition comes 70 years after IAPH was founded right here in the great City of Los Angeles.”
“Celebrating this seventieth anniversary here in Los Angeles with the American ports community today at TPM is a fitting tribute to those key people from that same community who founded IAPH alongside their Japanese port colleagues back in 1955,” said IAPH Managing Director Patrick Verhoeven. “We look forward to returning to Kobe, Japan in October to celebrate on the Asian side of the Pacific during the World Ports Conference.”
About IAPH
Founded in 1955, the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has developed into a global alliance of 191 port authorities as well as 165 port-related businesses. Comprised of over 80 different nationalities across the world’s continents, member ports handle over one third of the world’s sea-borne trade and well over 60% of the world’s container traffic. IAPH leads global port industry initiatives on decarbonisation and energy transition, risk and resilience management, and accelerating digitalisation in the maritime transport chain. The IAPH is recognised by the United Nations as a Non-Governmental Organisation, and 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.
About the Port of Los Angeles
The Port of Los Angeles is North America’s leading trade gateway and has ranked as the No. 1 container port in the United States for 25 consecutive years. In 2024, the Port generated $333 billion in trade and handled a total of 10.3. million container units, sustaining its top rank among U.S. ports. The Port remains focused on community investment, commitment to sustainability and environmental leadership, workforce development, and infrastructure improvement. San Pedro Bay port complex operations and commerce facilitate one in nine jobs across the Southern California counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura.