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Rotterdam Welcomes ITS 2006
01 Apr 2006
The 19th International Tug & Salvage Convention and Exhibition (ITS 2006) returns to Rotterdam after an absence of 29 years. As Europe's largest port, and home to a host of well known names from the world of tugs and salvage, Rotterdam is an ideal venue for this eagerly anticipated event.
ITS 2006 will take place at the Beurs World Trade Centre in the centre of the city's business district and within walking distance of five hotels with which the organisers have arranged preferential rates for ITS participants. The Beurs World Trade Centre is the largest venue ever used for ITS, reflecting an increase in both delegate numbers and exhibiting companies. There will be 40% more exhibition space than at any previous ITS.
ITS has an enviable reputation for attracting senior players from throughout the international industry and affords them a unique opportunity every two years to meet, learn and do business. The organisers ensure that delegates and exhibitors have every opportunity to network. For ITS 2006 the conference room is immediately adjacent to the exhibition, giving delegates and exhibitors an easy opportunity to dine together.
Furthermore, ITS 2006 will lay on the Organiser's Welcome Cocktail Party in the exhibition area on the evening of Monday, 24 April, and there will be a Civic Reception in the Rotterdam Town Hall on Tuesday evening.
Both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings will feature the Cummins sponsored ITS Night Club, where guests can talk tugs until the early hours, lubricated by complimentary drinks and to the accompaniment of an excellent jazz trio.
Wednesday will also see the Wartsila sponsored ITS 2006 Tug Parade, staged alongside the Rotterdam Cruise Terminal on the River Maas. Billed as 'The World's Biggest Parade of Tugs', the organisers have applied for inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records for a fleet which will represent 130 years of tug development.
On Thursday evening there will be a spectacular Caterpillar sponsored Gala Dinner and Cabaret, again at the Rotterdam Cruise Terminal and with tugs on the river as a backdrop.
Finally, on Friday, delegates can participate in one of four tours sponsored by Damen, MARIN, the Port of Rotterdam, and SMIT International.
The centrepiece of ITS is, of course, the Conference and the ITS 2006 Steering Committee has selected and approved an excellent programme of papers.
With an emphasis very much on discussion, pre-prints of the majority of papers will be sent to registered delegates before the Convention, allowing them time to prepare questions.
Synopses of the papers can be seen at www. tugandsalvage. com Rather than having papers on the Friday, the ITS Steering Committee felt it would be beneficial for delegates to experience Rotterdam's plentiful maritime attractions firsthand.
They have thus arranged the four different tours, departing from central Rotterdam mid-morning. A fantastic week for all will be capped by visits to either Damen Shipyards at Gorinchem, the Maritime Institute of the Netherlands (MARIN) at Wageningen, SMIT International in Rotterdam, or a tour of the Port of Rotterdam, including the World Ship Centre.
MJ Information No: 21721
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