Rotterdam ready for Europort 2009

All sectors, from inland navigation to short sea shipping, from dredging and marine construction to fishing and the offshore industry, are brought together in the Ahoy Rotterdam exhibition halls.

The central theme of Europort 2009 is ‘Advanced Technology’. The newest technologies race to keep pace with increasingly demanding maritime markets and the growing focus on sustainability challenges developers to help solve some of the great challenges of the 21st century.

The host nation is home to a wide variety of maritime disciplines, including world class shipyards, innovative suppliers, cutting edge technologies and engineering. Europort, situated in the heart of the port of Rotterdam, is thus an ideal venue in which to showcase all that is new in the commercial marine world.

The theme of Advanced Technology is also represented in a complementary programme of conferences and seminars. The Dutch Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, will kick things off when he arrives in Rotterdam on November 3rd to open Europort 2009. His presence at the exhibition underlines the significance of Europort and the maritime sector for the Netherlands.

A premier theme of the Dutch government is to stimulate innovative entrepreneurship and the exhibition’s Advanced Technology theme perfectly reflects that intention.

A record number of 870 exhibitors from 35 countries will present the newest maritime technologies across ten exhibition halls. Exhibitors are manufacturers and suppliers in the fields of shipbuilding, ship repair and conversion, marine propulsion, marine electronics for navigation and communication, mechanical and auxiliary systems, deck equipment, safety equipment and a range of maritime services.

Approximately one third of all Europort exhibitors will come from outside the Netherlands and the true share of international participants at the exhibition is even higher than this figure suggests. Many Dutch traders, importers and agents represent international products at the exhibition. Europort has a network of international sales agents around the world and contracted new agents in France, Italy, Russia, USA, Vietnam, the Middle East and India.

The internationalisation of Europort is also apparent from the growth in the number of national pavilions. At Europort 2009 there will be national pavilions from Romania, Korea, China, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Poland, France, the USA and Great Britain.

Making its debut at Europort 2009 is the ‘New to Market Street’ in Hall 7, where fledgling maritime businesses will be able to publicise themselves in a fully fitted-up stand for a minimal investment. The low threshold approach to exhibiting will provide a golden opportunity to attract the attention of some 30,000 visitors expected over the four days of the exhibition.

Many are policy and decision making professionals from the world of classification societies, port authorities, engineering and design companies, vessel maintenance and repair service providers, shippers and ship owners, ship brokers and insurance agents, ship builders, surveyors and many more.

With days at an exhibition known to be intense and tiring, the in-house business restaurant Pier 7 will provide both exhibitors and visitors alike a calming environment in which to relax or even continue doing business. Lunch or dinner à la carte followed by coffee in the Coffee Corner, where computers are available with wireless Internet, further enhance the Europort experience.

Marine professionals can register for free admission to Europort 2009 at www.europort.nl/registration. Those who fill the required data will receive a digital admission voucher. Those attending Conferences will need to register separately.

Opening hours for Europort 2009 are: Tuesday 3 November: 10:00 – 18:00 hours, Wednesday 4 November: 10:00 – 18:00 hours, Thurday 5 November: 10:00 – 22:00 hours, and Friday 6 November: 10:00 – 18:00 hours.