LISW focuses on Asia
Key members of the London International Shipping Week team will spend this month visiting major Asian maritime hubs to raise awareness of LISW27 and encourage some of the region’s leading maritime companies to engage with the event in London next September.
LISW Co-Founder and joint CEO Sean Moloney will this week visit Japan with Head of PR Lisa Jacobs, meeting Tokyo-based shipowners, trading houses, known as sogo shosha, and the Japanese press. They will highlight the relevance of LISW to Japanese companies and the benefits of participating in one of the world’s leading international maritime events. Japan is home to the world’s third-largest national merchant fleet, accounting for around 10% of global fleet capacity.
Next week, LISW Co-Founder and joint CEO Llewellyn Bankes-Hughes will travel with ship.energy’s Will Mulhall to Singapore for SIBCON, the world’s largest bunkering convention, held in the world’s largest bunkering port. Llewellyn attended the first SIBCON in 1988 and has been a regular participant ever since. While the marine fuels sector was previously underrepresented at LISW, that changed dramatically at LISW25, when more than 800 bunker buyers, suppliers and traders signed up for the inaugural Bunker Party. A larger venue has been booked for LISW27 to accommodate even greater participation from the sector. Singapore is home to the world’s fourth-largest merchant fleet, representing around 6% of global fleet capacity.
In mid-October, Commercial and Operations Director Andy Snell will be in Shanghai to speak about LISW at the UK China Day of Pudong International Shipping Week, which is being delivered in partnership with Maritime London, UK Shipping Concierge and Maritime Coastguard Agency, SMI and Chinese Shipping Association London.
Andy is also meeting leading Chinese ports and shipping companies, who are interested in joining COSCO and China Classification Society (CCS) in partnering with LISW27. China is home to the world’s second-largest merchant fleet, with a 14% share of global fleet capacity. Six of the top 10 world’s busiest ports are in China and this will be showcased this at the Global Hub next year.
Together, these visits underline LISW’s commitment to bringing the international shipping community to London. By strengthening relationships in Japan, Singapore and China, the team aims to encourage greater Asian participation in LISW27, ensuring the region’s expertise, priorities and perspectives help shape the week’s discussions. The ambition is to build lasting connections between maritime centres, creating opportunities for collaboration and business that extend well beyond the event itself.